♪ LAUREN: Ooh!

Look at that!

(splashing).

We are at the National Aquarium in Baltimore!

LAURITA: Yay!

LAUREN: I am so looking forward to our trip here, we are going to see some dolphins!

LAURITA: And then we're going to see the sharks.

LAUREN: And then I'm pretty sure we're gonna be able to touch some jellyfish!

LAURITA: Talk about the trifecta of fun today!

Dolphins, and sharks, and jellyfish...

BOTH: Oh my!

(laughing).

ROSE: The National Aquarium's mission is to connect people with nature, to inspire compassion and care for our ocean planet.

We are a conservation organization, we care really deeply about climate change and plastic pollution and biodiversity.

In the 1970s Baltimore had a mayor named William Donald Schaefer who noticed the Inner Harbor wasn't the nicest place and he wanted to revive that, so he proposed the building of a world-class aquarium.

In 1981 was when we first opened and within the first few years became over a million visitors every year so it was really popular.

You know the oceans make up 65% of the planet and they're really unexplored so everything feels new and interesting and special.

Lauren and Laurita today started off in Dolphin Discovery so they got to see a training session with our dolphins you get to come up on the back deck and get a really close look at what our trainers do with our dolphins.

LAURITA: There's one!

Oh look, they're playing.

LAUREN: Oh, he has something in his mouth.

Oh, let's go over there and meet Ivan.

LAURITA: Oh, there he is.

IVAN: Good morning, welcome to Dolphin Discovery, are you guys excited?

LAURITA: Yes!

LAUREN: So excited!

IVAN: We're gonna do what we call a husbandry session.

LAUREN: Okay.

IVAN: Which is basically a session where we rehearse some of the medical behaviors we're training our animals, which are really helpful to make sure we can provide them with the care and the welfare that we want the right way.

Are you guys ready to get closer to the animals?

LAUREN: We are!

LAURITA: Yes, yes.

IVAN: Alright, you can go ahead and follow me this way, we're gonna go to the other side of the habitat, and we're gonna meet one of our senior trainers, Gretchen.

GRETCHEN: We're gonna be working with Bo today.

LAUREN: Splash, aw.

GRETCHEN: Good job, sir.

LAUREN: Look at him!

LAURITA: Awwww.

So cute!

LAUREN: About how many teeth does a dolphin have?

GRETCHEN: So they have 80 to 100 cone-shaped teeth, and they only get one set that has to last them for their entire life... LAUREN: Oh, wow.

GRETCHEN: So that's why doing tooth checks is really, really important.

So, we had a very good husbandry session, we got a lot of Bo's medical behaviors accomplished this morning.

LAURITA: Awww.

GRETCHEN: Give me a high five?

Thank you.

LAURITA: Aww, that was so cute!

GRETCHEN: I am gonna... All set?

LAURITA: Well I want Lauren to test out her dolphin skills, and tell me if you think she's somewhat close.

LAUREN: Okay.

(clears throat).

LAURITA: Do it.

(squeaking).

GRETCHEN: That's not bad, however a cool thing about this, dolphins actually don't use their mouths to make their noises, they don't have a vocal box like we do, they use their blowhole on top of their head...

BOTH: Ohh!

GRETCHEN: To make a lot of their sounds that you hear, they come out of the blowhole.

LAURITA: That explains why you're speaking... LAUREN: Right, not dolphin.

LAURITA: Seal, perhaps, but not dolphin.

This has been so enriching for us.

LAUREN: Yeah.

LAURITA: We couldn't wait to come today to see, to see your kids!

GRETCHEN: Aw.

LAURITA: And they did not disappoint.

Thank you so much.

GRETCHEN: Thank you, guys.

ROSE: Lauren and Laurita also got to participate in our shark catwalk tour, and that's where we have our largest sharks.

You get to be really close, you get to watch them swimming underneath.

STEHLE: The catwalk here that we're standing on is the area where our animal care team can come and feed and care for the sharks, train them.

And then additionally right where you all are standing is where our divers can enter and exit the water, as designated for care and maintenance as well.

LAURITA: Okay.

So, do they come from all over the world or?

STEHLE: These are Atlantic species.

So, the really cool thing about Shark Alley is it showcases some of the animals that you might see locally, if you were to go visit the beaches in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware.

LAURITA: I would hope not to!

LAUREN: Thanks.

LAURITA: Until next time, sharks.

♪ Dun dun dun dun ♪ ♪ Dun dun dun dun dun ♪ ROSE: Hey guys, welcome to the moon jellies.

LAUREN: Ooh, thanks.

LAURITA: Thank you, wow.

ROSE: Yeah, this species is called moon jellies, this is a species that's safe to touch, and it's safe to touch because they have such small, tiny stinging cells, that can't get through human skin.

LAUREN: Ooh, okay.

ROSE: Yeah, you can touch right in the middle of that smooth top.

LAURITA: Wow.

ROSE: Exactly.

LAURITA: You know, I've been in the beach, and I've been stung by some jellies, and so I was a little nervous, but...

I'm glad you explained how to touch them, and they feel pretty cool.

Thanks for having us.

LAUREN: Yeah, thank you for this.

LAURITA: We can't wait to come back and bring friends!

ROSE: Please do.

LAURITA: Bye jellies!

LAUREN: See ya.

ROSE: I think the National Aquarium is perfectly suited for Baltimore.

Not only are we really close to water, we are here helping people connect to that still, and see why it's so important to clean that water up, and be proud of the progress that the entire city and the entire watershed has made.

♪