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[Seagulls] Noah: The National Aquarium, located in the heart of Baltimore's Inner Harbor,
is home to some of the finest aquatic exhibits in the world. Lucie: This aquarium is ranked #1 in the country by Coastal Living.
And each year, over 1.5 million visitors come to see its collection of 16,500 specimens, representing over 660 species.
[Fiesta music] Lucie: We walked around outside of the aquarium for a little bit, checked out a few outdoor exhibits, and watched as more and more
people joined the crowded ticket line. Noah: Today is Friday. The National Aquarium offers a special discount called Fridays after Five.
Lucie: So, we're going to go take advantage of this. Let's go buy tickets!
[Theme song plays] Lucie: Hopkins is an amazing university and Homewood is a beautiful campus.
Noah: But, what many students don't know is how much the city of Baltimore has to offer.
Lucie: I'm Lucie Noah: and I'm Noah!
Lucie: We're students at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Noah: And we're here to help you... Noah and Lucie: Learn More,
See More, B'More!
Lucie and Noah: Ding!
[Tropical Music] Lucie: The inside of the aquarium was really amazing and we couldn't wait to begin exploring!
Lucie: You've heard of 3-D movies, but here at the National Aquarium, they have a 4-D immersion theater.
Noah: In cinema, the fourth dimension is the term that describes an entertainment presentation system that combines the three spatial dimensions with added physical effects in the theater.
Lucie: Let's go get our tickets! Noah: Sure.
[Different tropical music] [Muffled Crowd] Lucie: Bubbles!
Noah: Whoa! Lucie: There were a lot of times when on the screen, there'd be a splash of water and we would actually get splashed
in the audience from the seat in front of us. [Water noises] Noah: Ah!
Noah: At one point, a shark jumped out of the water and chomped on an innocent seal. [Screams]
Lucie: And a little rod from the back of our chair came and poked us in the back! Lucie: Ow!
[Techno music] [Waterfall noises] Noah: This exhibit represents a river gorge in Australia. It contains many pools
that show a wide variety of Australian aquatic life. Lucie: This environment is designed to simulate Australia's extreme conditions which include fire, drought, and flood.
There are also over one hundred trees enclosed in this pavilion which, in it, itself contains over thirty thousand square feet of glass!
Lucie: The Whiting-Turner contracting company constructed this massive glass pavilion.
One of the founders of this company, G.W.C. Whiting, is the benefactor of our very own G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering.
Lucie: "Jellies Invasion: Oceans out of Balance" is the National Aquarium's newest exhibit. Noah: Let's go check out what the ocean's like out of balance!
Lucie: Yeah, let's go! [Electronica music] Lucie: The entire Jellies Invasion exhibit is a pitch black room with
the only light coming from the bioluminescence jellyfish and neon-lit waters. Lucie: This is definitely my favorite jellyfish at the aquarium.
Lucie: After the Jellies Invasion exhibit, we made our way to the dolphin show.
[Luau music] Lucie: We're here at the Baltimore National Aquarium with Denise in the Dolphin Amphitheatre.
Denise has been a dolphin trainer for 2.5 years now.
Lucie: So, how did you get started working at the Baltimore National Aquarium?
Denise: I was studying biology and animal behavior and I knew this is what I wanted to do- work with dolphins.
So, luckily living so close, I applied for an internship here when I was in my senior year and I was accepted.
After I did that, I actually moved into a volunteer position. I did that for over a year until finally I was hired on the staff.
How many people can say that they go to work everyday and love their job that they do? Lucie: Right. 0:04:36.387,0:04: 41.910 Denise: My favorite thing, probably, is that every day is different. You're working with eight live animals who have their own individual brains
and so you never know what is going to happen when you walk in the door.
Denise: She should spin around with you. Noah: Oh so cool! [Laughter]
Denise: Put both hands up and wave! She's actually going to wave up to the camera.
[Laughter] Denise: Chessie and Bailey are coming back! Go!
Denise: Well, when we train our dolphins, we use something called operant conditioning and a version of that called positive reinforcement.
What that basically means is we reward correct behaviors with something they like. In the dolphin's world, it's fish.
[Piano song] Denise: Probably a fan favorite here, when they come to the show, would be the high jump!
So, that is where our dolphins actually will jump probably about 20 feet in the air and touch one of those buoys up there. Seems to be a crowd favorite every time.
Lucie: Thank you so much! It was so nice to meet you! Denise: You're welcome! Noah: It was great to meet you!
[Fiesta music]
Lucie: We're gonna take our turtles Noah: And our pink dolphin... [Laughter]
Lucie: And go explore this aquarium. Lucie and Noah: Ding! [Squeak from dolphin and turtle toy]
Lucie: Join us next time to Learn More, Noah: See M ore, Lucie and Noah: B'More!
Lucie: Bubbles! Noah: Keep going! You got it! You've got this, Lucie!
Lucie: Bubbles! Noah: Oh my gosh! She did that all that by herself!
Lucie: I present to you: bubbles!