Fish Wish

The Georgia Aquarium has partnered with 11 Alive News to grant wishes to sick kids from Children's Health care of Atlanta. Each month, a child and his or her family is chosen to come to the Aquarium and play with one of the animals. Marc Pickard from 11 Alive News videotapes the wish and conducts interviews the family.

On Friday, I got to participate in a Fish Wish with 4-year-old Olivia who has brain cancer. When Olivia arrived to the aquarium with her parents, she wore a special necklace with a bright smile on her face. Each bead on her necklace represented a procedure she had been through since diagnosed with two brain tumors. Watching Olivia almost run around the ballroom, you never would have known that she had brain surgery a week before.

Her mother said its amazing- Olivia was not even walking a week ago and now she is almost running around ready to greet everyone with a handshake and hug.

Olivia's wish was to help "train" the beluga whales. With the camera rolling, Olivia placed her hand up against the glass and the whale touched his nose to the glass by her hand. Olivia then spun around in a circle, and the whale spun around in the tank mimicking Olivia.

It was one of the most amazing experiences watching Olivia participate in her Fish Wish. You could look into Olivia's eyes and see happiness even though she had been through so much. She loved being in front of the camera! When the cameraman was filming extra footage, she would walk straight up to the camera with a grin on her face. This opportunity was a blessing for the family.

The story/video aired Friday, Jan. 30, during the 11Alive News. Click here to check out the story: http://www.11alive.com/rss/rss_story.aspx?storyid=126347

Titanic Exhibit

For those of you who have never been into the Titanic exhibit here at the aquarium, I strongly recommend it. Wednesday was my first time seeing the exhibit and its great! Upon entering the exhibit, you are given a boarding pass. The boarding pass contains information about actual passengers on the Titanic ship including their name, age, who they were accompanied by and their reason for being on the ship.

Once you enter the exhibit, you get to see more than 190 artifacts recovered from Titanic debris field, including 40 objects never before seen by the public. The exhibit tells stories of passengers through hands-on interactive experiences. The exhibit also has recreations from bedrooms from first and third class. At the end of the exhibit, you can find the name on your boarding pass to see if you survived.

Why am I talking about the Titanic exhibit on only my second day of work? Well today I was lucky enough to work with Ghost Hunters from the SCi-Fi network. Some volunteers who work here at the aquarium say they have been touched by ghosts inside the Titanic exhibit. After investigations from a local ghost hunting group in Atlanta, Ghost Hunters was sent to do their own investigations.

On Wednesday, I walked outside to welcome the Ghost Hunter and their camera crew. We waited until the the aquarium closed before we began filming. All noise including music was turned off and the examination begun. The Georgia Aquarium staff was not allowed to participate in the investigation, so we do not know what happened. You will have to watch their show to learn whether the exhibit is haunted, which we believe is airing in April (I will let you know closer too time)

FYI: This exhibit is only at the aquarium for a limited time, so come see it before it is too late!

The First Day in the Beginning of a New Journey

My day started at 7:30 in the morning. I can't remember the last time I woke up this early, but coffee saved the day! I found a Starbucks with the handy-dandy GPS device in my phone. I arrived to the office a little before nine where one of my new bosses, Ashley, met me. 

I had a new volunteer orientation from 9-12. This class was mainly for volunteers who will work in the main parts of the aquarium. I learned where ALL of the bathrooms are and safety procedures in case of an emergency- information I will probably never use.

I did, however, learn some interesting facts about the history of the GA aquarium. For those of you who do not know, the co-founder of Home Depot, Bernie Marcus, wanted to give something to the Georgia community, so in 2001 he donated $200 million dollars to build and fill the aquarium. His wife, Billi, is the reason we have the whales sharks. This is her favorite animal, and she did everything in her power to get the whale sharks to Atlanta. 

The habitat which holds the whale sharks, Ocean Voyager, is the largest marine habitat in the world and contain 5 million gallons of water.

The Georgia Aquarium is the world's largest aquarium with over 8 million gallons of water and more animals than any other aquarium. 

Besides learning the history of the aquarium, the group was given a tour. When we were at the top of the Ocean Voyager tank, one of the whale sharks came and swam by us. (The picture from above is not my picture but a picture from the GA aquarium Web site. I will have to bring my phone around, so I can take pictures myself!!)

After orientation, I went over to the office I will be working for the next three months. I met my bosses and other co-workers. There will be one other intern, but she had not started yet. My first day at the office was a lot introductions and learning the ropes. I began working a little on social media. For those of you who are not already, please become a fan of the GA aquarium on facebook. I would greatly appreciate it!!!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me at stephanie.mazo@gmail.com

Welcome!

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Stekki Mazo and I'm a senior at the University of Georgia majoring in public relations. I will be interning three days a week at the Georgia Aquarium this semester in their PR and communications department. Yes, I'm not looking forward to the commute; however, I believe the experience will be well worth it.

I will be updating my blog at least once a week to tell everyone about the exciting projects and people I meet during my experience. 

I begin my internship Monday, January 19th at 9 a.m. I look forward to the beginning of a new journey and being able to share my opportunity with you all!