The Living Coast Discovery Center, a nonprofit zoo and aquarium located on San Diego Bay in Chula Vista, will host Animals on the Bay Day on Saturday, March 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The family-friendly event includes $5 admissions for all ages as it celebrates the native wildlife that makes the Southern California region so special, from sharks and rays to endangered sea turtles to reptiles and birds of prey.
Living Coast’s Director of Education and Guest Experience Shayna Foreman said it ran Animals on the Bay for several years, but like many other organizations, stopped during the COVID pandemic and is now back for its second year since.
“Last year was incredibly popular and this year we are expecting around 1,500 people to come through our gates,” she said. “It is an amazing opportunity for guests to get out here on the San Diego Bay Wildlife Refuge since this is a deeply discounted admission day. It is a really great value.”
Foreman said it is an exciting day of exploration stations out of the Refuge guided by staff and docents.
“There are arts and crafts activities. Folks will be getting Nature Journals to bring around to get stamped at our community partner booths and receive prizes for that. We are looking for people to explore nature. Last year, folks were excited not only to explore nature but gather a sense of community. This year we are looking to have more than 15 partner organizations. Organizations from all over San Diego,” she said.
Living Coast’s community partners, include Cabrillo National Monument, California Wolf Center, Free Flight Bird Sanctuary, Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute, I Love A Clean San Diego, San Diego Audubon Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and many more.
“We will also have some food trucks and a craft market,” she said. “We did this last year for the first time. An organization, Las Jefas, organizes the craft market from community vendors. So, we will have more than a dozen vendors with their crafts.”
Foreman said Living Coast has 60,000 to 80,000 people coming to the center any given year, but this reduced admission day can really expand the organization’s visibility.
“It might be something that they have never heard about. They have not gotten the chance to come. Last year, over 40% of guests that we surveyed had never visited our site,” she said. “It really brings a huge new audience to our center. As much as we like to say we are one of the most affordable options for connecting with animals and coming to see an aquarium at the same time, we do have costs. At $20 per person for a large family can still be a barrier for folks. This discounted day can make a huge difference.”
Foreman said now, it is doing a lot of programs out on the trails, making more use of the refuge itself as a natural exhibit.
“We will have guided trail hikes, activities out on the trails, but at the center we have our super popular ray and shark exhibit. We have a new bat ray out there. People can say hello to Pancakes the diamond ray and Canoli our bat ray. It is a fun activity to maybe touch a ray,” she said. “We have our birds of prey which are always a huge hit, and we do have an opossum here we did not have last year. So, Oscar the opossum will be coming out for animal encounters as well. For those who have not been here in a while, we have our new green sea turtle Emerald, and she is right out front to greet you when you come to the center.”
