Mystic Aquarium

MYSTIC, Conn. – In March and April, Mystic Aquarium encouraged community members to turn their recyclables into artistic treasures for its second annual Scrap Art Sculpture Contest. Among the many creative, marine-themed pieces submitted, two entries stood out – “Baby Eco”, created by Chance Gaudreau, 10, of Baltic, and “Garbatee the Manatee,” created by Seth Glickman, 9, of Groton.

Gaudreau used a variety of recycled materials to create “Baby Eco”, a paper penguin sitting on a bed of paper snow and blue glass water. The entire sculpture was created with recycled materials, from the sunset made with can tabs to the penguin's feet, which are computer mice.

Additional materials include bottle caps, flint glass, box ties, Styrofoam, hole-punched paper, newspaper and a recycled box.

“Creating ‘Baby Eco’ was fun and actually kind of easy,” said Gaudreau. “I just had to think of different objects that I wouldn’t normally think of as materials for the sculpture. I named it ‘Baby Eco’, because the ‘Eco’ stands for ‘ecology’ and the ecosystem. When people recycle, it helps balance out the ecosystem, and animals and plants are better off.”

Glickman created his large manatee sculpture with plastic pillow cases and milk jugs and transformed a popcorn box into a bed of sea grass. He got the idea to create a manatee after grabbing a milk jug from the recycling bin and turning it upside down.

“It looked like a manatee’s face,” said Glickman, who created the sculpture over two weeks. “All the materials were right in front of us, in the recycling area in my house, so it was easy to make and lots of fun.”

Guests during the aquarium’s Earth Day Celebration on April 24 selected Gaudreau and Glickman’s unique works of art as the winning pieces among 21 entries. Gaudreau will receive at trophy and behind-the-scenes tour of Mystic Aquarium, which includes a guided tour of the campus, access to a private touch tank, a reptile encounter and stops at the top of the Coral Reef exhibit, food prep kitchen and freezer and an animal exam room. Glickman will receive a $20 gift certificate to the Aquarium Store.

About Sea Research Foundation, Inc.
Mystic Aquarium, Institute for Exploration and Immersion Learning are divisions of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization in Connecticut. The mission of Sea Research is to inspire people to care for and protect our ocean planet through education, research and exploration.