Visitor Guide to Birch Aquarium General Information

Thank you for respecting the health of our animals and the experience.

◆ Keep voices low in exhibit areas.

◆ No tapping on marine life displays.

◆ As a courtesy, please silence cell phones.

◆ Please use trash and recycling bins.

◆ Birch Aquarium is smoke-free facility.

Photography

    For the safety of our live animals, please do not use flash photography. Visitors may be photographed or videotaped by aquarium staff for professional use, or by the media covering aquarium news. Entry into the aquarium grants permission for use of these images.

Refreshments

    Splash Cafe offers a variety of gourmet, sustainable, and organic sandwiches, snacks, and beverages.

Drinks, food, and gum are not permitted inside the aquarium.

Restrooms ＆ Baby Care

Changing tables are located in both the men's and women's restrooms.

Re-entry

    Please keep your ticket or have hand stamped at the Visitor Service Office if you plan to exit and re-enter the same day , including visits to Splash Coffee Shop.

Visitors with Disabilities

    See the Visitor Information Center for assistance. All exhibits are wheelchair accessible. Wheelchairs are available at no charge.

Emergencies /First Aid/ Lost ＆ Found

Go to the Visitor Service Office or alert the nearest staff member.

Don't Miss!

    Watch a diver hand-feed the fishes—including three species of sharks—during our Kelp Tank Dive Show.

Learn about this unique and beautiful undersea world during a live, interactive presentation. After your visit, view the exhibit at home through our live, online Kelp Cam.

    “When your mother scolds you, you can look elsewhere and think about other things. Just ignore her words. But remember: such a tough attitude cannot be used often.” These words are from a series of cartoons which outline skills for children to fight against their mothers. The images have created heated debate among Chinese netizens（网民）.

    Regarded as “a book for children aged 6 to 12 who are always scolded by their parents”， the cartoons, drawn by two 10-year-old Beijing girls, list over 20 skills which children can use to deal with their mothers' anger such as crying, pretending to be ashamed, fleeing into the toilet and pleasing her afterwards. Each skill is described with vivid pictures and humorous notes. The creativity of the young girls has amazed netizens, the Yangtse Evening Post reported on Thursday.

According to one of the girls' mothers, her daughter once received a poor mark in an exam, and the mother blamed her and compared her performance with another classmate. The daughter's feelings led to her creating the cartoons. The girl's father, who first posted the pictures on his Sohu Microblog on Monday, said he hopes parents pay close attention to the pictures, allow children to feel free to develop their own characteristics and try not to criticize them so often.

“The cartoons, although an individual case, reflect a modern phenomenon and some of the problems within Chinese family education,” said Yu Qinfang, an expert on family education. According to a survey of 104 children and their parents, Yu discovered that as many as 51.9 percent of primary school students hate being urged to do things by their mothers. “Not giving children enough time and hurrying them to do things seems to be a very tiny detail within family life, but it is potentially a huge problem which can easily be ignored by parents. A mother's blame may lead to negative feelings within her child's heart,” Yu said. “Parents should learn to blame less and be more patient.”

    Three miles is short by car, but when the three miles consists of an old wooden fence on a cattle farm that requires a fresh coat of paint, it's not a short distance any more. For the final week of summer heading into my first year of college, painting this fence was a disaster for me. At first it seemed like the most boring way to spend the last week of my wonderful freedom from school, but it actually turned out to be something intriguing.

    Luckily, I wasn't alone in this task; I got the help of Rob, the farm manager. When two people were stuck under the sun of August in the middle of rural Kentucky for ten hours a day, there wasn't much to do to help pass the time. Standing in front of this fence was the last thing on Earth I wanted to do. I worked with Rob all these days, spending over hours with him with nothing to do but a boring task, and all we had for amusement was conversation. In a society filled with constant entertainment, this was a huge contrast.

    It started out simply, and we talked about the weather, sports, and how annoying it was to get the fence painted. As the week progressed, so did our topics of discussion. From family and funny childhood stories to our hobbies and dreams, we began to know more about each other. We shared personal stories with each other, little pieces of our past and ourselves. I had spent plenty of time with people whether it was about sporting events, movies, or concerts, but never had I spent so much time with one person with absolutely nothing to break the silence. It was uncomfortable at first, but things changed.

    Sometimes we tried to keep ourselves busy, entertained, or from getting bored. There is a deeper connection you get with people when all you're doing is talking. For a moment, you get an inside look into their mind, heart and soul. This is what humans are good at—sharing themselves. Whether we realize it or not, this is happening all the time all around us.

    People are divided into two groups in the world. Though each of them has equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy and the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.

    People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things: the pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine and the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend (hurt) many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing(批评) and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation(模仿). It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.

    Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people offend many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrongdoings. These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact(接触) with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.