Polar bear Laerke will get a sea-ice-themed treat July 11–12 while Tacoma families watch, learn, and pick up tips on helping the Arctic from their own backyards.

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is marking Arctic Sea Ice Weekend on Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12, with two full days of keeper talks, animal enrichments, and hands-on conservation activities.

Gates open at 9 a.m. both days, and all weekend programming is included with regular zoo admission.

The centerpiece: a 1:30 p.m. polar bear keeper chat at the Arctic Tundra habitat, where staff will talk about Laerke's story and visitors can watch her enjoy specially designed enrichment.

Laerke and her twin sister Astra were born Nov. 17, 2020, at the Detroit Zoo. Laerke needed intensive lifesaving care shortly after birth, separating her from Astra for about two years before the sisters reunited and moved to Tacoma in 2023. She swims in filtered Puget Sound water in her Point Defiance habitat.

In a zoo profile, a staff biologist identified only as Noelle described the twins' personalities: "Laerke is more quiet. She really likes to watch what her keepers are doing. I often find her closely observing what we're doing."

Beyond the polar bears, the weekend schedule runs deep. Walruses Balzak and Lakina will receive themed enrichment at noon both days at Rocky Shores.

A "Fun with Fur" station at the muskox habitat runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and an Enrichment Exploration area in Arctic Tundra keeps the same hours.

The Arctic Ambassador Center, open 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. both days near the polar bear habitat, lets visitors meet zoo staff who have traveled to see polar bears in the wild, examine a real polar bear skull, and learn about the work of Polar Bears International.

A Northwest Waters dive talk at Pacific Seas Aquarium rounds out Sunday at 11 a.m.

The zoo is holding the event ahead of Arctic Sea Ice Day on Wednesday, July 15, a global observance created by Polar Bears International. Research shows the Arctic is warming nearly four times as fast as the rest of the planet, causing critical sea ice loss that threatens polar bear habitat.

Matt Mauer, president of the Parks Tacoma Board of Commissioners, called the weekend "an opportunity to connect zoo guests with Arctic animals while inspiring simple actions that can help protect their future."

Point Defiance Zoo has housed polar bears for more than 80 years, according to the zoo. The species is designated at "high risk of global extinction" by the zoo, citing the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission.

If you go: Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma. Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Online tickets: adults $25, seniors (65+) $23, youth (ages 3–12) $17, children 2 and under free. Front-gate prices are higher. Pierce County residents and U.S. military pay the online rate at the gate. Parking is free.