Participants are given a souvenir photo showcasing their finished painting alongside the dolphin that helped paint it — Photo courtesy of Amy Shulman, Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin HabitatWhether you’re 8 years old or 88 years old, at one time in your life, you’ve probably dreamt of swimming with a dolphin–but did you ever think of painting with one?
Offering guests an experience that’s truly unmatched, Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage in Las Vegas introduced a new interactive program in January that gives visitors the chance to collaborate with one of the habitat’s Atlantic bottlenose dolphins on a unique piece of art. Called "Painting with the Dolphins," the program joins the habitat’s popular Trainer for a Day and Yoga Among the Dolphins programs and provides the mammals with yet another avenue to mentally challenge and engage them with their trainers and guests.
The program uses paintbrushes placed inside buoys so that the dolphin can paint its masterpiece — Photo courtesy of Amy Shulman, Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin HabitatThe once-in-a-lifetime experience begins with a brief orientation and overview of the habitat. Then, guests are asked to pick what color they want the background of their canvas to be from almost two dozen paint selections (guests can also leave their canvas white for higher contrast). Participants will get to choose three additional colors for the dolphin to paint with, too. Once guests have painted their background, they’ll be escorted poolside where a dolphin will finish the masterpiece using special dolphin-friendly paintbrushes that are placed inside buoys so the animal can hold them safely in its mouth.
After the painting is complete, guests will be given the chance to interact a bit more with the animal, even learning a few hand signals to communicate. Although participants will only spend about 10 minutes with the dolphin, the memories are sure to last a lifetime.
Painting with the Dolphins takes place twice daily at noon and 3:30 p.m. and is limited to just two people per session. The $199 fee includes the finished painting, a certificate of authenticity and a souvenir photo.
