Cooler Middleboro Festival - 2026

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Yesterday, March 21, 2026, NECWA was once again part of Cooler Middleborough, a community festival that brings together different organizations all focused on making the world a better place for us and for the organisms that also call it home. NECWA brought our 40' inflatable whale model and set-up 6 tables with lots of educational material available to festival participants. 


Kids and adults had a great time viewing our inflatable model of Salt, the Humpback Whale. Not only could you view Salt from the outside, but you can also go inside her and view inflated organs, like the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. 


NECWA also set-up our Song Tent where we play and discuss humpback song. Kids and adults can go inside and listen to humpback song as they learn about its purpose and changing musical structure. 

   

NECWA also provided 6 tables filled with various educational activities. Some tables displayed marine artifacts like whale bones, whale baleen, shark jaws, and ocean sunfish skin. Other tables had free educational material for participants to pick-up and take home with them. 



Other tables offered hands-on activities like our famous Blubbler Glove activity. For this event, volunteer college student, Darcy, created additional materials, including a trifold poster with additional images and information. Darcy also created a new activity focused on the Whale Pump that reviewed the importance of whales and their movements in the ocean habitat. As whales move up and down in the water column, they help to move minerals and other important materials throughout our ocean waters. These materials are used by producers and other organisms at the base of the food chain. An overview of the Whale Pump is provided in the illustration below.

A great time had by one and all. Thank you everyone for joining us yesterday and we hope to continue this festival tradition in the future.




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