Penguin 5K Walk/Run October 18, 2008

Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration to Host
5k Run or Walk (or Waddle!) to
Benefit Penguin Research and Conservation
Event includes merchants and middle school team competitions for the first time

Lace up your sneakers and get ready to run or walk for the good of our feathered friends. Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration will hold a 5k run and two-mile walk at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 18 to benefit our much loved African penguins.

The event consists of a 5k run on a trail, field and road course, two-mile walk and ¼-mile kids’ race. The walking route winds through the aquarium and Olde Mistick Village. Prizes will be awarded in eight age divisions for males and females. Participants who raise $50 or more will receive a free commemorative race T-shirt. The top fundraiser will be awarded an original piece of penguin art created by the penguins themselves, and the runner-up will receive a free Penguin Encounter, during which he/she will interact face-to-face with a penguin.

For the first time this year, the event includes a merchants competition open to local business teams and a middle school cross-country team competition. The winners of both competitions will receive an engraved trophy that will be passed to each year’s winning team. Each of the members on the middle school winning team will also receive a meet-and-greet with a penguin.

All participants will receive free admission on race day to Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, where they can visit the 26 African penguins in the Roger Tory Peterson Penguin Exhibit and see over 70 other exhibits featuring more than 12,000 fish, invertebrates and marine mammals from around the world, including the four Pacific white-sided dolphins and seven belugas visiting from Shedd Aquarium in Chicago for a limited time.

The money raised from the race will go toward the aquarium’s penguin research and conservation efforts. During a recent research project (September 8 to 19), Laurie Macha, supervisor of sea lions, seals and penguins at Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, traveled to South Africa to participate in a study investigating the 40 percent reduction in the African penguin population over the last three years. The research group examined possible factors, such as the effects of the 2000 Treasure oil spill and fishing on the penguins’ breeding. The group also looked at ways to improve penguin tags, studied chicks’ growth and placed loggers on penguins to monitor their travel. The findings of this important research will be shared with peers in the field, as well as integrated into research done here at the aquarium.

Visit mysticaquarium.org to download a registration and donation form and get additional event details. If you are unable to participate but would like to make a donation, please e-mail sponsorship@mysticaquarium.org or call (860) 572-5955, ext. 553.

WHAT: 2nd Annual Penguin 5k run or two-mile walk

WHEN: Saturday, October 18 at 9 a.m.

WHERE: Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, 55 Coogan Blvd., Mystic, CT 06355

WHY: To benefit our penguin research and conservation efforts

COST: $20 entry fee; $25 after October 11. Children ages 3 to 13: $10. All participants receive free admission to Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration on race day.

For more information, visit mysticaquarium.org or e-mail Race Director John Trahan at jdtrahan@comcast.net.

About Sea Research Foundation, Inc.
Mystic Aquarium, Institute for Exploration and Immersion Presents are divisions of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a private, non-profit, charitable organization incorporated in the State of Connecticut. The mission of Sea Research is to inspire people to care for and protect our ocean planet through education, research and exploration.

Official Website: http://www.mysticaquarium.org