Mote A-scare-ium provides a safe place for children on Halloween

The sharks weren’t the spookiest thing at Mote this Halloween. 

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium hosted its Halloween event, Mote A-scare-ium, which several attendees said was the perfect Halloween activity for their children. 

“This is something very different from the usual trick-or-treating,” said Chuck Shue, a father who brought his family to the event. “You can still get candy, but there also is an educational aspect to it.” 

The main event was the scavenger hunt, which led families through the aquarium and out to the courtyard. Children could play in the bouncy castle, get candy, get their face painted, take pictures with the Mote mascots and dance to the live music. Scuba divers were also in the shark tanks carving pumpkins and greeting the children that passed by. 

Most children that came are future oceanographers who often come to Mote because of their interest in marine life. It was also the perfect event for visitors to celebrate Halloween when they are not locals. 

“My parents have a house in Bradenton, and we were in the area for the week,” said Angelique Chapus, who is visiting from France. “This is the safest thing to do since we don’t know where to go trick-or-treating. It keeps the kids very engaged and we get to see some local aspects of the area since we aren’t from here.” 

Toni Borman has been a volunteer at Mote for 30 years. 

“Mote Marine has gone out of their way to make sure that everything that we have on an educational basis is also shown in events like these,” said Borman. “So people who are here for the first time can get a taste of what Mote is all about.” 

Veronica Perrelli organized the event and said it was a great experience to transform Mote into the A-scare-rium.

“I loved collaborating with all the departments to bring this fabulous event to the community. Our team worked really hard, and it was such a great turnout.”