National Aquarium

The National Aquarium announced Monday that it would issue a special Grand Prix-week ticket that will allow guests to visit the venue as many times as they like for seven consecutive days. The seven-day ticket can be purchased online at aqua.org or at the National Aquarium in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. All tickets issued for Aug. 27 through Sept. 3 will be good for seven full days, the aquarium said in a news release. Also, Grand Prix ticketholders can bypass the aquarium's general admission line by presenting their entry pass to the race, the aquarium announced.

There's a new dolphin calf at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. An Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Jade gave birth to the calf Wednesday night. The newborn dolphin was about 30 pounds and 2 to 3 feet long at birth. Aquarium staff haven't been able to determine the sex of the calf yet. But they say the calf appears to be healthy. It has started to nurse and has been swimming alongside Jade and another female dolphin. The aquarium notes that even with a successful birth and an experienced mother, about one-third of dolphin calves don't survive their first year of life -- either in the wild or in captivity.

Staff of the National Aquarium in Baltimore will be in Ocean City tomorrow for the Annual Maryland Dolphin Count and they're looking for volunteers to join them. The count takes place 9 a.m. to noon Friday, along the beach at 40th Street and at 130th Street, where you can join the aquarium in sighting the dolphins off the coast. Aquarium staff will also be stationed at Assateague State Park (Day Use Area). Volunteers who can spend a few hours on the beach watching the water and filling out data sheets are welcome at all three locations, where the groups will be divided into teams of counters.

A planned $12.5 million coral reef exhibit will be the first step toward a rejuvenated National Aquarium, officials said this week. The Wings in the Water exhibit, the centerpiece of the Pier 3 Pavilion and a home for rays, sharks and other large fish, will be turned into what officials are calling Blacktip Reef. The replica of an Indo-Pacific Coral Reef - thinkAustralia'sGreat Barrier Reef, though much smaller - it will be home to a school of more than a dozen sharks, plus other creatures that call such habitats home.

One of two baby bottlenose dolphins born at the National Aquarium in April was found dead in its pool Tuesday morning. A necropsy is being performed to determine the cause. "We don't really know what happened. There was no abnormal behavior. No signs of anything. It was pretty sudden," said aquarium spokeswoman Jen Bloomer. The second calf appeared healthy and was nursing regularly. Mortality rates are high — about 33 percent — for baby dolphins, whether they're born in the wild or in captivity.

The National Aquarium in Baltimore 's Inner Harbor is redesigning its dolphin show — and its admission prices. Beginning May 4, the "timed, limited-access and separately priced [dolphin] shows" will be eliminated and replaced by all-day access to the dolphins and their trainers, according to a statement released Thursday by the aquarium. Along with the new dolphin show format, the aquarium is increasing its base admission price to $29.95 for adults and $20.95 for children.

Attendance at the National Aquarium's Inner Harbor and Washington venues rose 2.4 percent last year, the first increase since the recession, thanks to an improving economy and a more interactive aquarium experience, CEO John Racanelli said. The attraction drew 1.55 million people last year, including 1.34 million at the Inner Harbor destination, marking the first increase since 2006. During an interview Wednesday at The Baltimore Sun, Racanelli said the more than 30-year-old aquarium is repositioning itself to not only offer entertainment, but also to advocate for cleaner, healthier oceans.

How do you throw the ultimate birthday party? Invite more than 500 of your closest friends to the National Aquarium's Marine Mammal Pavilion. Make sure that everywhere they go in the building, a variety of food and entertainment awaits. Then have a surprise guest of honor appear. So went the aquarium's 20th anniversary reunion for its friends and founders. The big surprise came in the form of former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer - wearing the same turn-of-the-last-century bathing suit and carrying the rubber ducky he sported in the photo that went 'round the world when the aquarium opened 20 years ago. Master of ceremonies Rick Dempsey tried to speak Donald Duckese to the guv, then complimented his "sexy little legs."