We helped fish fans of all ages learn about marine life in ASL for #DeafAwarenessDay 2026! Check out the fun we had at Mystic Aquarium with American School for the Deaf students and community. Thank you to everyone who helped make this day happen!
—
Video description:
A two-minute reel with photos and videos of a community event at an aquarium. Text appears on screen: “Deaf Awareness Day at Mystic Aquarium” with ASD and Atomic Hands logos. People are surrounded by vibrant marine life in blue-colored tanks. Kids interact with hands-on activities and a deaf marine biologist enters one of the tanks for an underwater chat, sharing interesting facts about our world’s oceans.
[end description]
—
Transcript:
Barbara (underwater): I’m a marine biologist—
Student 1 (interrupts): Hi!
Barbara: Hello!
Barbara: Here’s the Atomic Hands booth!
Text: To celebrate, we helped fish fans of all ages learn about marine life in ASL! Our booths had amazing volunteers with activities…and Barbara, our Executive Director jumped into the Caribbean tank for an underwater chat!
Student 2: Can you see me?
Barbara (underwater): Yes!
Student 2: How much air comes from the ocean, rather than trees?
Barbara: Oh yes, good question. We breathe oxygen (O2). Where does it come from? Most people know it comes from trees and plants. But in reality, plants and algae from the ocean produce about 50% of the oxygen we breathe! 50%! That’s half! Half of what we breathe is from the ocean. Cool!
Marshall (pointing at booth): Here, you can guess the sign or draw a variety of species!
Barbara (underwater): This is how we sign “coral”. How much of the world’s seafloor is covered by coral reefs? About 1%. That’s it. 1% is a small number. Does it mean not important? No, that tiny 1% supports about 25% of all marine species. Rainforests are famous for an incredible variety of animals. The ocean has its own version: coral reefs, the rainforests of the sea!
Text: Thank you for celebrating Deaf Awareness Day with us…and thank you ASD & Mystic Aquarium for making this possible!
[end transcript]