“Frozen Wonders: Explore the Enchanting Sea Turtles at Boston’s Ice Sculpture Stroll”

The Waterfront Ice Sculpture Stroll occurred on New Year’s Eve in Boston, with the New England Aquarium also participating in this event, showcasing its own piece of frozen artwork.

This year, the sculpture depicted a type of sea turtle frequently rescued from Cape Cod beaches.

The sculpture featuring Kemp’s ridley sea turtles was meticulously carved live at Central Wharf Plaza on Dec. 29, as per a statement from the aquarium, by Don Chapelle from Brilliant Ice Sculpture based in North Andover.

“It’s a pleasure every year to craft iconic species that the New England Aquarium has dedicated its efforts and time toward conserving and safeguarding,” said Chapelle in a written statement. “Every year, visitors enjoy watching us sculpt them in ice.”

For the past 18 years, Chapelle has been creating grand ice sculptures for the aquarium. His previous works include North Atlantic right whales, sharks, penguins, sea lions, octopuses, and more.

What was the New England Aquarium’s ice sculpture this year?

Chapelle sculpted an ice representation of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, an important species for the New England Aquarium.

Every fall and early winter, hundreds of cold-stunned sea turtles, including Kemp’s ridleys, wash up on the shorelines of Cape Cod. Due to swiftly altering water temperatures and wind patterns, many turtles cannot escape the hook-like region of Cape Cod Bay and suffer from hypothermia.

Staff and volunteers from Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary frequently patrol the beaches along Cape Cod Bay in search of the cold-stunned turtles, to subsequently transport them to the aquarium’s sea turtle hospital in Quincy for care.

This winter, nearly 500 endangered sea turtles have been given rehabilitative care at the hospital after their rescue.

How heavy was the ice sculpture?

The sculpture of the turtles was “crafted from 35 blocks of ice weighing 10,500 pounds to form a 14-foot-wide by 8-foot-tall masterpiece,” as stated in a communication from the aquarium.

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