Marvelous Mantis Shrimp is December's Save the Bay Exploration Center Critter

In the transition from turkey dinners to holiday lights and hot chocolate, Save the Bay’s Exploration Center and Aquarium has jumped into the month of December with its “Marvelous Mantis Shrimp” theme. Open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m.– 4 p.m., activities focused on the Marvelous Mantis Shrimp include “Mantis Shrimp: Master of Punching” story hour at 11:00 a.m., Mantis Shrimp feedings at noon, a Mantis Shrimp scavenger hunt at 1 p.m.,“Mantis Shrimp Mysteries” creature feature at 2 p.m., and weather permitting, a beach walk at 3 p.m.

Narragansett Bay’s highly adaptive Mantis Shrimp are masters of their world. With more than 400 known species, these shrimp have such unique qualities as the fastest punch on the planet (they can break shells and glass) and kaleidoscope vision. The Mantis Shrimp can see 16 primary colors, while human vision is made up of only three primary colors. In other words, the Mantis Shrimp can see colors that the human eye has never seen before.

“Their world must be beautiful beyond human comprehension,” says Adam Kovarsky, Save The Bay’s exploration center manager. “This December, we invite the whole community come to Save The Bay’s Exploration Center and Aquarium and see through the eyes of the Marvelous Mantis Shrimp!”

The Exploration Center and Aquarium is located at Easton’s Beach Rotunda, 175 Memorial Boulevard in Newport RI. For more information about the Exploration Center and Aquarium, visit www.savebay.org/aquarium or call 401-324-6020.

Photo: Roy L. Caldwell, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley - National Science Foundation