You may have already picked the perfect pumpkin, but you may need some inspiration and instruction before carving your jack-o-lantern. For that, you might look to the Tennessee Aquarium.
SCUBA divers held an underwater pumpkin carving demonstration this morning inside the Aquarium’s River Journey building. Surrounded by Lake Sturgeon, Paddlefish, and turtles, Volunteer SCUBA divers Dr. Lisa Shier and Marie Dement made this annual tradition look easy. However, pumpkins float. So, in addition to some serious carving skills, the divers had to add dive weights to the pumpkins and secure the lids to the pumpkin using zip ties.
The divers delivered some “spooktacular” results within just a few minutes. Today’s event was the kickoff to the Tennessee Aquarium’s ODDtober series of events that focus on the wonderfully weird side of nature. Guests will explore the wonderfully odd behaviors and adaptations of creatures from around the world and unlearn myths about their “terrifying” character as the Aquarium attempts to “un-spooky a species” and celebrate some of Earth's stranger creatures.
Aquascarium, the Aquarium’s spooky family-friendly Halloween celebration, also returns to close out the month of October. During this single-day event on Friday, Oct. 28, attendees will get to explore the Aquarium after hours in search of elusive creatures as they meet beloved SCUBA diving pop culture characters and collect plenty of candy.
Aquascarium begins at 4 p.m. with final entry at 7 p.m., and both Aquarium buildings close promptly at 8 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance online and are $8 for Aquarium members and $35 for non-members. There are no timed-entry tickets for this year’s event.
ODDtober begins Oct. 1 and runs through the month of October. To learn more about ODDtober and Aquascarium, visit https://tnaqua.org/oddtober/