National Marine Aquarium

The National Marine Aquarium (NMA) in Plymouth will be celebrating its 20th birthday this year with a programme of events to commemorate its work and inspire new audiences about oceans and their importance for a healthy planet.

To mark its milestone year, the NMA has a bumper programme of public events planned throughout 2018 including boat trips and wellbeing workshops.

Celebratory events

There will be 20 beach cleans taking place across the south west - one beach clean for every year the NMA has been open. 

A new series of boat trips are available too, enabling visitors to explore the Plymouth Sound with a team of marine biologists and ocean conservationists from the NMA. 

The NMA's partnership with Nuffield Health has also been extended, with a series of unique wellbeing events held at the aquarium throughout the year including pilates, yoga and body balance classes. 

The National Marine Aquarium's 20th birthday celebrations will continue throughout May, June and July, with celebrations culminating on 24th July - the NMA's official birthday day. 

Roger Maslin, CEO of the National Marine Aquarium, commented: “We have lots of public activities for visitors to help us celebrate - the launch of our new boat trips and beach cleans provide the ideal opportunity to get involved, with celebrations culminating with a series of special birthday events.  

“The introduction of our new membership programme will also enable visitors to help support our mission to connect us with our oceans and promote pro-ocean behaviour.”

About the NMA

Plymouth has been home to an aquarium since 1888. Initially housed at the Marine Biological Association, a new and much larger aquarium was built at the current site in the Barbican district of the city in 1997, designated the National Marine Aquarium.

Leading the way, the NMA was the first aquarium in the UK to be run as a separate charity solely dedicated to education and conservation of the marine environment. 

Group information

Group organisers can email groups@national-aquarium.co.uk or call 01752 275214 for more information regarding a visit.

For more information, visit www.national-aquarium.co.uk