Birch Aquarium Jumps on Shark Craze with ‘Shark Summer,’ Special Oceans at Night

Birch Aquarium‘s first Shark Summer continues Thursday with a shark-themed Oceans at Night.

The monthly 21-and-over event features live music, craft cocktails, glowing games and more. It begins at 6:30 p.m.

Other shark-focused events continue at the aquarium through July 31, including:

• Shark Feeding, learn about local sharks and rays and discover how Birch’s husbandry team cares for them, 1p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; 11:30 a.m. Saturdays.
• Shark Exploration Stations, see shark physicals, or how a shark gets a check-up, and explore the diversity of local shark and ray species right off the La Jolla coast, Saturdays and Sundays.
• Trivia Night, interact with Scripps researchers, with drinks and food available for purchase on Blue Beach; 5:30 p.m. July 31.

During Shark Summer, proceeds collected in the donation box in the aquarium’s Galleria benefit the Association of Zoos and Aquariums SAFE Sharks and Rays program, a collaboration by more than 60 organizations nationwide to save more than 1200 species of sharks and rays worldwide from extinction.

Activities offered during normal summer business hours, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on most days through Labor Day, are included with the $30 admission. Oceans at Night requires separate admission, starting at $40.