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A Watershed Moment The Monterey Bay Aquarium Celebrates 30 Years B Y R E N E E B R I N C K S A few months before the Monterey Bay Aquarium's October 1984 opening, Mary Barrett registered for the facility's volunteer orientation classes. She'd grown up sailing on Lake Michigan and, after moving to the Monterey Peninsula, wanted to learn about the Bay in her new backyard. As Aquarium co-founder Dr. Steve Webster presented concepts on an overhead projector, Barrett took detailed notes. Three decades later, she still has notes from those classes, and she con- tinues as an aquarium volunteer. Her daughters, 27-year-old Kadee and 28-year-old Meghan, were student volunteers for 10 years before graduating from the adult volunteer program. Barrett's moth- er, Jane Gorman O'Brien, also volunteered for more than 15 years before retiring from the aquari- um in her early 90s. "It's really given us a strong, unique bond," says Barrett. "I think that all volunteers will attest to this: Being part of a guide shift at the aquarium is like having a second family... These people become lifelong friends." As the Monterey Bay Aquarium celebrates 30 years in 2014, Barrett is among some of today's 1,200 volunteers and 425 employees who have been there since the beginning. Four marine biolo- gist friends originally envisioned the facility that currently houses more than 35,000 animals and plants and welcomes an average of 1.8 million guests annually. When the aquarium kicked off its anniversary celebration in February with free admission for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito County residents, 31,285 locals visited in just seven days. "I heard so many great stories from that week, including one about a 90-year-old-woman who lives in San Benito County and had never been here before. That was one of the goals of the free week," says Aquarium Spokesperson Angela Hains. "It means a lot to us, to be able to thank the com- munity that has supported us." In April, the aquarium opened an exhibit that promises to be this year's most buzz-worthy birth- day headliner. The $3.5 million "Tentacles: The Astounding Lives of Octopuses, Squid and Cuttlefishes" features two-dozen fanciful species in 12 live exhibits, plus interactive activities and an array of marine-inspired art. Because the animals on display are mostly nocturnal, experience short life cycles and regularly camouflage themselves, designers faced unique challenges as they created display environments. "They're sensitive to light, so we've experimented with different lighting and different substrates at the bottom of the exhibits," says Hains. In addition, she explains, designers developed special exhibit mechanisms–including custom bubble-making equipment crafted from empty soda bottles— and instituted a facility-wide no-flash policy for all galleries to keep animals comfortable. Photo: Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder 102-106 MB Aquarium_152-161 Garcia story 4/21/14 9:47 AM Page 2