Essential Information
| Type | Events and festivals |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Date and Times | Saturday 7 June 2025 |
| Prices | Free |
Celebrate our brilliant blue planet this World Ocean Day at the National Maritime Museum.
Whether you want to meet scientists and ocean experts, take part in workshops or enjoy live music, we’ve got plenty to float your boat!
This year we're also excited to celebrate the reopening of Ocean Court, the largest space in the National Maritime Museum and the place to connect with our watery world.
With a giant 'map of the world according to fish', new objects and displays, plus a wonderful mural by award-winning illustrator Yehrin Tong, World Ocean Day is your first chance to explore Ocean Court for yourself.
Visit the National Maritime Museum for free this 7 June, and get ready to dive into our amazing ocean.
Festival highlights
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Grand opening of Ocean Court
It’s been a long time coming, but Ocean Court is back! The central courtyard at the National Maritime Museum has been transformed thanks to new displays and artworks, plus a peculiar and exciting new Ocean Map...
Be among the first to run across the Map and discover its hidden creatures and features.
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Live music and performances
From the rhythms of the Pacific to the sounds of Latin jazz, there'll be a wave of music washing over Greenwich this World Ocean Day. Enjoy live musical performances from across the globe, featuring Beats of Polynesia, Trinity Laban Latin Band, Pulsar percussion and more.
Meanwhile our friends at Science Made Simple are guaranteed to make a splash with their interactive science show It's Only Water. Discover the incredible properties of water - and maybe be prepared to get just a little bit wet!
All performances are free and first-come, first-served. We'll be publishing the full schedule shortly.
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Games and activities
Hear from a range of scientists and campaigners and get stuck into a range of workshops throughout World Ocean Day.
Take on five unique challenges with Surfers Against Sewage and learn to be an ocean activist with their interactive Digital Ocean School.
Play the Sustainable Fishing Game with Ocean Generation and find out how you can make a difference through the food you buy and eat. The team will also give you a chance to be a 'Polar Problem Solver' and discover what we can learn from amazing animals from the polar regions.
Come and find out more about the world of manta rays and discover how scientists research these incredible animals with the The Manta Trust. Enjoy a virtual dive with manta rays using VR, have a go at identifying individual manta rays using photo ID, and check out a manta ray's favourite food under a microscope!
Drop in any time these activities are running, and stay for as little or as long as you like. Full programme coming soon.
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Talks and tours
Take a deep dive into our ocean and the amazing galleries of the National Maritime Museum with a series of free talks and tours.
Hear from special guests in the lecture theatre or take a stroll around the galleries with our friendly Museum guides. You can hands on with objects from the collection throughout the day with our team of Museum curators.
Talks schedule coming soon.
Full programme coming soon
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What is World Ocean Day?
World Ocean Day takes place on 8 June every year as a celebration of the ocean and our continuing reliance on it.
Over 70 per cent of our blue planet is covered in water, and more than half of all the oxygen we breathe comes from ocean plants. We rely on the ocean for food security, transportation, coastal defences and much more.
Here in Greenwich, our World Ocean Day activities are inspired by UNESCO's seven principles of ocean literacy.
Ocean literacy is about understanding the impact the ocean has on our lives and wellbeing, and the effect we have on the ocean. We want to share how important the ocean is, in order to help create a positive change.
The principles focus on seven key areas:
- Earth has one ocean with many features
- The ocean and life in the ocean shape the features of Earth
- The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate
- The ocean makes Earth habitable
- The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems
- The ocean and humans are inextricably linked
- The ocean is largely unexplored.
For more ocean inspiration, why not check out our activities, resources and features available online?
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