The Aquarium of the Pacific has been closed to the public since mid-March, but while its animal population continues to be cared for behind closed doors, families can still see and learn all about the Aquarium’s residents at a safe distance directly from their homes. Added daily for kids and adults, online programs include all those mentioned below, including a special Earth Day event coming up Wednesday, April 22.

VIRTUAL EARTH DAY EVENT

Courtesy Aquarium of the Pacific.

Earth Day is coming up on its 50th anniversary, and while the Aquarium would regularly celebrate with a weekend-long festival, it’s moving all activities online for an all-day event Wednesday, April 22, so the public can still connect to the ocean and learn about the importance of protecting its health. Starting at 8:45 a.m., a full schedule of activities, from animal appearances to drawing workshops to classes and lectures, will be held into the evening, concluding with a 7 p.m. guest lecture, Flood Tides and the Affairs of Humans from ocean expert Douglas McCauley.

Tune in anytime throughout the day via the Aquarium’s website here.

LIVE ANIMAL WEBCAMS

With the news that a penguin laid an egg last Friday, April 11, the Aquarium set up a live cam of parents Kate and Avery tending to their new charge, which requires a lot of sitting, sleeping and eating. Whether you’re raising your own kids at home, or you’re just stuck at home with yourself, we see this video as very, very relatable at the moment. The Penguin Nest Box Cam is just one of seven webcams set up in various exhibits. You can also watch grown penguins swim, ogle at the sleek predators in the Shark Lagoon, get meditative with the ebb and flow of a group of sea jellies and zone out “inside” the Tropical Reef exhibit.

Visit aquariumofpacific.org/exhibits/webcams to watch (we highly suggest pairing a video with a soothing playlist, like this “Jazz Vibes” one we found on Spotify).

THE DAILY BUBBLE

From the mouths of puppets, here you’ll receive all your Aquarium news, some education, even craft ideas you can do at home, all delivered from Axl the Axolotl, Seymour Shark, Piper the Seahorse, Captain Quinn and Quinn’s son, Kevin the Crab—all who are working from their homes under Stay at Home orders. What’s more? Pacific Pals-themed coloring and activity sheets you can download here.

Visit The Daily Bubble channel on YouTube for regular episodes.

INTERACTIVE CLASSES FOR KIDS

These sessions are held live, so kids can send in their questions as texts or emails to the featured educator; they can also be watched on-demand. Organized by grade levels, from Pre-K through 12th grade, animal experts cover a wide range of topics, from learning about animals and their habitats, to marine science and pursuing careers in those fields. Want to make your student feel like a star? Parents can also print out any of the Aquarium’s certificates of completion for their accomplished sea star.

For the full list of classes in the Aquarium’s Online Academy, click here.

AND MUCH MORE…

Courtesy Aquarium of the Pacific.

You can explore the Aquarium’s galleries online through its Virtual Visitor’s Guide and complete an activity to unlock a digital surprise, “attend” any of the Aquatic Academy’s guest speaker series lectures and find delicious seafood recipes to cook at home through this Ocean to Table video series.

Make sure to visit The Aquarium’s Online Academy webpage here for more.

Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].