Sea Life Sydney Aquarium searches for Sydney’s biggest penguin fan via History Will Be Kind

Sea Life Sydney Aquarium has announced a state wide search for ‘Sydney’s Biggest Penguin Fan’ with its first ever online campaign via History Will Be Kind, designed to support the launch of the attraction’s world-first Penguin Expedition exhibit in November.

The four week competition will see young penguin and conservation enthusiasts demonstrate their reporting skills through a short 30-second video. Budding stars will be able to showcase everything from their knowledge of penguins, to insights into penguin behaviours and the difference between species, within their creative entries.

Announced on November 3rd, the winner will report from the opening of the multi-million dollar Penguin Expedition, meet Sydney’s first ever colony of King and Gentoo penguins and film a short web series, including exclusive interviews with expert Penguin Trainers.

Says Richard Dilly, general manager, Sea Life Sydney Aquarium: “This campaign will give one lucky child the chance of a lifetime and is a great way to pay homage to Sydney’s first colony of sub-Antarctic penguins. It is also the first time we’ve run a fully integrated social media campaign so we’re very excited to see the results.

“We are looking for creative video entries that show us personality and tell us why entrants love penguins and why they think they’ve got what it takes to become a star.”

As part of their role, the junior penguin reporter will also become a conservation ambassador to help educate visitors on the impact single use plastic has on wild penguin colonies. In addition, the winner will gain unlimited access to Sea Life Sydney Aquarium for 12 months.

Entries are open to NSW residents only and applicants must be under the age of 12 years. To be in the running, entrants need to:

• Step 1: Create a short video telling/showing why they have what it takes to be a Junior Penguin Reporter.
• Step 2: Upload the video to http://sydneyaquarium.com.au/penguincomp and include the hashtag #PenguinReporter.
• Step 3: Keep an eye on the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium Facebook page for exciting penguin news.

Launching in November, the world-first Penguin Expedition is inspired by Macquarie Island – an Australian owned island that lies in the southwest Pacific Ocean – and will create an explorer out of every guest as they travel in a raft through a rugged environment at a cool but comfortable six degrees Celsius.

The King and Gentoo Penguins set to join the exhibit will be a welcome addition to the 13,000 animals from 700 different species already in residence at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium. These curious, playful and sometimes cheeky critters live in sub-Antarctic conditions; they can withstand the harsh winter environment and thrive in the chilly water. King Penguins can grow up to 100 cm tall and weigh 11 to 16 kg, while the smaller but still impressive Gentoo’s reach a maximum weight of 8.5kg.

Alongside Penguin Expedition, guests can marvel at sharks, dugongs, rays and a variety of animals from The Great Barrier Reef, making the attraction home to one of the largest displays of aquatic life in the world.