Happy World Ocean Day!

Every year on June 8th, the United Nations and people all over the world celebrate the 1 body of water that sustains all life on Earth: the ocean. Although the UN calls it "oceans" we recognize the 1st principle of ocean literacy is that the Earth has one big ocean with many features.

All the different names of the ocean are just for its different parts.

This year's UN theme for World Ocean Day asks us to "Reimagine" our future and guardianship over the ocean. "To govern not just beyond our borders but beyond our blind spots, beyond the habits of taking, operating in silos, and the belief that the way things have been is the way they must remain." (UN World Oceans Day)

Celebrating World Ocean Day at the Ann Arbor African American Downtown Festival

Bringing the 2026 Beneath the Surface Book Tour full circle, I'm happy to say the first few events have been a huge success! On Saturday, I was in the Kids' Corner at the Ann Arbor African American Festival.

Young artist at the Ann Arbor African American Downtown Festival, June 6, 2026

In celebration of World Ocean Day, I passed out coloring sheets and had sketch pads for kids to draw their favorite ocean animals. I was impressed with how much some kids knew.

The following day, I celebrated World Ocean Day at the oldest aquarium in the USA, the Belle Isle Aquarium. They just installed a new coral exhibit the day before. It was a fun day and I got a chance to meet nearly 100 visitors, from all over the country.

Fun Fact: The Belle Isle Aquarium once had a private mermaid show in the basement.

At both events I invited guests to try their luck at winning a Beneath the Surface raffle prize by playing 1 or more rounds of Ocean Trivia. Questions ranged from easy to hard, like "Name 3 ocean animals" to "Where do the Great Lakes link directly to the Atlantic Ocean?"

Let's have plastic free seas by 2040! We can do it, if we work together.

So happy the "Ocean Lovers' Chinese" lessons were a hit! A couple of Chinese kids visited and their faces lit up in surprise when they saw the calligraphy set up.

I learned that it's not uncommon for the Belle Isle Aquarium to attract over 100 visitors daily, from all over the world.

After some more thought, I'm happy to announce that I decided to give the 3rd place prize, the Beneath the Surface coloring book, to everyone. So I will only select individual winners for the first two prizes: Beneath the Surface (ebook or audiobook) and the set of Ocean Lovers' Chinese lessons.

If you participated in the trivia game over the weekend but haven't received an email with your prize, please contact me (use the chatbot, scroll down on the right).

This month you can join the 2026 Beneath the Surface Book Tour from wherever you are in the world in my upcoming online and offline (Lansing/Detroit/Ann Arbor, Michigan) events.

Hope you all enjoy your gifts and I hope to SEA you again soon!