Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea

Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea transforms the San Diego Natural History Museum's 3,000-square-foot second-floor gallery into an immersive underwater world built entirely from beach trash. The traveling exhibition features more than 25 larger-than-life marine creatures, from suspended jellyfish blooms to an 18-foot whale rib cage, each sculpted from bottles, flip-flops, toys, toothbrushes and other debris collected during coastal clean-ups. The work comes from Washed Ashore, a nonprofit based in North Bend, Oregon, that has spent more than 15 years building awareness of marine plastic pollution through art made by hundreds of volunteers. For the San Diego presentation, the museum's exhibits director Abi Karkenny designed the show around rippling blue light, ocean sound and hands-on activity stations, with Friday Nat at Night events turning the gallery into an ocean-themed lounge. On view May 22 through February 28, 2027, the exhibition arrives as The Nat marks the 20th anniversary of its volunteer Whaler program, pairing eye-catching sculpture with a clear conservation message about the more than 8 million tons of plastic entering the ocean each year.