Celebrate Coastal Cleanup Day with a Special Afterparty & Documentary Screening at Heal the Bay Aquarium!

After making waves at Coastal Cleanup Day, celebrate at Heal the Bay Aquarium! On Saturday, September 20, 2025 join us for a special screening of Planet Friendly: Resurrection of the Sunflower Sea Star, a powerful documentary highlighting the fight to save one of the ocean’s most important endangered species.

🎥 Screenings at 2:30 PM & 3:30 PM

• Enjoy light refreshments
• Meet filmmaker Bill Thisdell and Heal the Bay experts
• Dive deeper into the making of the film and the future of sunflower sea star conservation
• Get an up-close look at a real, rare sunflower sea star at the Aquarium!
• Space is limited, and available on a first-come, first-served basis

 Volunteer Perks:
As a thank you, Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers enjoy 50% off adult admission and free child admission on September 20.

Coastal Cleanup Day Participant Admission
Adults and Teens 13+: $6.00
Kids (12 and under): Free

General Admission
Adults and Teens 13+: $12.00
Kids (4-12): $5.00
Kids 3 and under: FREE with an Adult Ticket Purchase (An adult MUST accompany Children)

Students: $10.00
Older Adults (65+): $10.00
EBT (cardholder): $6.00
Military (active-duty military personnel, retired military personnel, and veterans): Free

Group rate: For groups of 5 or more adults ($10.00/each person); for groups of 10 or more children ($3.00/each child)

🌊 Come celebrate your hard work, connect with fellow ocean lovers, and learn how you can join the movement to protect sunflower sea stars and our coastal ecosystems.

Why Sunflower Sea Stars Matter

Sunflower sea stars are a keystone species. By controlling sea urchin populations, they protect kelp forests and help sustain hundreds of species along California’s coast. However, after the 2013 outbreak of sea star wasting disease, populations plummeted by more than 90%, leaving them functionally extinct in much of the state.

Now, hope is on the horizon. Through the AZA SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) initiative, Heal the Bay Aquarium and partners nationwide are working to restore these sea stars to the wild and revive balance in the kelp forest ecosystem.