Search

South Africa has been famously referred to as the rainbow nation because it is made up of so many diverse cultures and religions. Our language diversity alone is highly rich and authentic, and yet we find ourselves only able to speak one or two of our 11 official languages. Learning a different language can be an intimidating experience, but if you would like to expand your horizons and learn isiXhosa, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation is offering a course where you and your family will learn basic conversational isiXhosa for everyday situations.The main purpose of this course is to encourage families to learn to speak isiXhosa to each other and to strangers they meet in their daily lives. We want to celebrate our differences and similarities as a nation, while embracing our social, cultural and language diversity. We also aim to build bridges that close our social and language barriers as a South African community. The course will include fun conversations, basic vocabulary, phrases and songs that will improve your Xhosa speaking ability when going to the shops, petrol station or when speaking to your colleagues and classmates.The course is designed to be flexible and teachers Thabo Sabeko and Wandiswa Jonga will include additional content based on the input from participants during the course.

We have a brand-new offering for our little fans in Grades 1 to 3. Ocean ‘Fun’atics is a series of live sessions that are filled with fun facts about marine animals. Each day will feature a different topic, such as how animals play hide and seek, animals and their different homes, and how you can tell a shark and fish apart.We will use Zoom to connect with a maximum of 20 children at a time. Our educators Wandiswa, Bianca and Chanelle will keep the kids entertained with pictures, actions, songs, and arts and crafts.We will run the Ocean ‘Fun’atics series from Monday to Friday. You can sign up for all five sessions, or just one or two.

The ocean is home to many parents, but not many "dads". Why? Being a father is hard, and in most cases it's simply easier to scatter huge numbers of offspring into the ocean and hope for the best, or to use those resources to secure mates rather than to protect the young. It's a harsh world in the ocean - but the harshest environments are what form the ocean's best dads.Let's celebrate Father's Day by taking a look at some of the ocean's most exceptional father figures:

The most fulfilling part of rescuing and rehabilitating sea turtles at the Two Oceans Aquarium is, of course, their release back into the ocean when they are fully recovered. Thanks to modern satellite tracking technology and the collaboration of government, Aquariums and generous donors are able to follow the journeys of some of our releases turtles closely - and provide you with their inspiring ocean adventure stories. Let's take a closer look at their travels.

We have a deep fascination with animals that light up. Fireflies are perhaps the best-known species, and glow worms. These animals glow because they have bioluminescence abilities. Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. This light is produced by a chemical reaction within the organism. In the ocean there are hundreds of known marine species that are bioluminescent, and certainly just as many unknown ones too. Some fish use their glowing lures to attract prey, some squid have replaced the traditional black ink with bioluminescent liquid, and even worms and bacteria can glow in the dark. Often, these animals have the required chemicals necessary for the reaction that produces bioluminescence. Other animals absorb or ingest bacteria and other living organisms that can glow, and use this ability to its own advantage.

Chef Lucio invites you into his home to learn to cook quick and easy chilli and coriander hake fishcakes - a family favourite in the de Allende household! Hake one of the most popular South African seafoods, and thanks to many Marine Stewardship Council certified fisheries and assessments that have placed hake on the WWF SASSI Green List, it also has the potential to remain one of our most sustainable food fishes.

If you enjoyed yesterday's delicious, sustainable hake fish cakes from Head Chef Lucio de Allende, then you'll love today's recipe! Mild yellowtail curry is one of chef Lucio's favourite dishes to prepare when providing world-class catering to functions at the Two Oceans Aquarium's venue, but it's also one of his family's favourites!

Coming to a screen near you this Plastic Free July, the Two Oceans Aquarium and the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation proudly present a series of free webinars exploring ocean inspiration as well as the issues and solutions involved with plastics in the environment. Join us and our special ocean ambassador guests to hear more about how your choices connect you to the ocean and what you can do to be part of the solution.

Two Oceans Aquarium Head Chef Lucio de Allende's delicious sustainable seafood recipes have long been a hit amongst guests enjoying the Aquarium's catering facilities, and the recipes he's shared with our fans have been delicious. Join chef Lucio in his home kitchen for a ste-by-step guide to cooking a scrumptious spicy tomato and mussel pot!

Marine plastic debris is one of the most pressing environmental concerns facing the world today. Animal entanglement, microplastic ingestion, bioaccumulation of toxins, endocrine system disruption in humans - these are just a few of the devastating effects that plastic pollution has on us and the environment. Our oceans are choking.

The ocean is an amazing, beautiful, and colourful place! The sea can be calm one day, with soft waves, soft movement, and a soft blue look. However, in the blink of an eye, the sea can then turn bright pink with a jellyfish bloom, and within a matter of another second, stormy weather with flashing lightning can cause the water to turn black. But just as the sea can turn from pink and then to black without warning, it can also suddenly light back up with an array of spectacular colours provided by jellyfish and the sea turtles that eat them. As someone who has been lucky enough to witness several jellyfish blooms first hand, the best way I can describe it is an “oceanic firework show put on by Mother Nature.”

The Two Oceans Aquarium is one of our family's truly happy places, and one of Cape Town's best places to visit for local and overseas visitors. Not only is it a fabulous place to visit because of all the ocean love, the fantastic programmes and things to do there as a visitor, but did you know that they, along with their registered non-profit and public benefit partner the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, have courses for young marine enthusiasts to take part in and enjoy?