Share a memorable boat ride with crabs, fish and other creatures brought up right out of Long Island Sound right before your eyes during exciting study cruises this fall with The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.
The Aquarium’s Marine Life Study Cruises will push off at 1 p.m. on Saturdays in September and October. Autumn is a great time to be out on the Sound, enjoying the animal encounters on the boat as well as a broad view of the spectacular fall foliage on land, doubled by being mirrored on the water.
During each 21/2-hour Marine Life Study Cruise, animals are collected from different water levels and bottom habitats of the Sound. A video microscope provides a magnified look at wriggly plankton gathered at the sunlit surface. Tiny crabs and worms emerge from a sampling of the anaerobic muddy bottom. A biodredge reveals a hidden world of sponges, snails and mollusks. And everyone inspects the trawl net's bounty – varieties of fish and crabs, sea stars, squid and always a few surprises.
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With the seasons changing, Maritime Aquarium educators also will talk about which animals endure winter in Long Island Sound, which will migrate away and which will just bury in the bottom until spring.
Marine Life Study Cruises also are available for private 9 a.m. charters for schools, Scouts and other groups.
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Cruises depart from the dock near the Aquarium's IMAX Theater entrance.
Reservations are strongly recommended; walk-up tickets will be sold space permitting. To reserve your spot or for more details, call (203) 852-0700, ext. 2206.
