The Monterey Aquarium was founded by Julie Packard from the family of HP in Palo Alto. To her benefit, she has established this organization as a world-reknown marine conservation aquarium like no other in the world. They have successfully put the Monterey Bay Sanctuary on the map of unique places to visit for marine life and their exhibits and collections rival most other aquariums. Their current exhibits focus on the "Sea Otters" who inhabit this sanctuary and can be seen out at sea all along the coast of California. The 300 pound tunas in the "Outer Bay" exhibit are some of the largest ever seen in captivity and a big draw since this exhibit is a large picture window into the world of ocean life. The most recently released white shark is not one of four that they have successfully captured and then released to the wild.

In addition to the popular "Jellies" and "Otters" they have very unique displays to educate and entertain for the young and old and host many events for conservation of the marine oceans with "Sustainable Foods and Chefs" to Spanish speaking educational series for local Spanish families. They also host many music and cultural events for members who support them financially and have a very active community calendar of programs that can be viewed on their website.

Their sustainable seafood programs such as the "Cooking for Solutions" beginning on May 16th, 2008 kicks off with a Gala Reception offering many choices of events from cooking demonstrations to explorations offsite in the garden and on tour in the areas restaurants and wineries for an experience from the many chefs who are participating in this wonderful program for cooking with seafoods and organic products from your garden.

March 7th, 2008, there will be a webcast of the new "Splash Zone" that is currently in construction and you can sign up to win "Breakfast with the Penquins" on their website for those wanting the artic experience of a lifetime. There is also a section on their web for "Saving Seahorses" and of course, their "Shark" section is a popular area as well.

If you are visiting the area, it is a must to see this aquarium in person and to support them thru membership or donation which can also be accessed online. They also offer everything from "Going Green" to how you can access their educational programs, grants and marine exploration and links to many other marine and conservation organizations.

Their otters exhibit is posted online and you can do sleepovers, dives and unique experiences as an Aquarium member so be sure and join up as we need to educate our young community about conservation of these unique marine animals before it is too late to save them from extinction.