Newport Aquarium's glowing jack-o'-lanterns are back on display, and this year a new roughtail stingray measuring more than 9 feet long is swimming right through the middle of it all. Underwater Pumpkin GLOW opened Friday and runs daily through Nov. 1, turning the aquarium's exhibits into a fully indoor, rain-or-shine fall attraction for families looking to skip the outdoor pumpkin patch crowds.
The event is included at no extra cost with general admission or membership, according to newportaquarium.com. Because the display lives entirely indoors, the aquarium notes it stays open regardless of weather, making it a dependable option even on a rainy Cincinnati-area weekend. As WKRC reports, this year's run stretches from Friday through Nov. 1.
A New Roughtail Stingray Moves Into the Shark Tank
The biggest new addition this season is a roughtail stingray that has joined the aquarium's Surrounded By Sharks exhibit, per Newport Aquarium. The station's report describes the animal as measuring more than 9 feet long and about 5 feet across, giving guests a much larger presence to spot as they move through the exhibit's tunnels.
That exhibit is built around 85 feet of seamless tunnels winding through what the aquarium describes as the heart of a large ocean ecosystem, according to newportaquarium.com. Visitors walking through can find themselves surrounded by multiple species of sharks, stingrays and schooling fish swimming on all sides, the aquarium notes on its exhibit page.
Pumpkin Decorating Returns to the Stingray Hideaway
Beyond the glowing displays, guests can decorate their own pumpkins daily inside the stingray hideaway using non-toxic acrylic paint markers and stencils, per the same account from WKRC. The activity costs extra and is available while supplies last, so families hoping to take home a hand-painted pumpkin may want to plan an early visit.
The pumpkin theme extends to the animals themselves. Fish and frogs at the aquarium receive pumpkins as seasonal treats and enrichment, and once jack-o'-lanterns have served their decorative purpose, they get repurposed as artificial reefs for fish and other animals to explore, according to the seed reporting from WKRC.
A Tradition Rooted in Past Pumpkin Sculptures
Underwater Pumpkin GLOW has built its identity in past years around larger-than-life sculptures of aquarium animals reimagined as pumpkins, according to Newport Aquarium. In 2024, that included a 10-foot-tall giant Pacific octopus made entirely of pumpkins, which the aquarium says was placed in its shark exhibit and designed to double as an artificial reef for sharks and fish to swim through.
That 2024 run took place daily from Sept. 16 through Nov. 3 and was likewise included with general admission or membership, the aquarium's site states. Seasonal enrichment that year also included underwater pumpkin carving, with leftover pumpkin bits serving as treats for schools of tropical fish, per Newport Aquarium.
Where to Find It
Newport Aquarium sits at Newport on the Levee, across the Ohio River from downtown Cincinnati, according to newportaquarium.com. Visitors can save by purchasing tickets in advance online, per the seed reporting, giving families another reason to plan their glowing pumpkin visit before the Nov. 1 close.
