A seaworthy escape

Your baby often croons, "Ain't nothing like the real thing," in your ear, but you must admit, sometimes faux can be fun - especially if it stands in for a getaway you just don't have time to take. With that in mind, we offer a cubic zirconia equivalent of a sparkling ocean adventure tomorrow - fake but still fabulous.

Start your day by experiencing "Sea Creatures in Glass" at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. You've probably heard, ad nauseam, about the glass flowers, but you may not know that father and son artists Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka also shaped glass and wire into hauntingly lifelike models of marine animals. Many of these fab faux creatures are on display for the first time since Harvard acquired them around 1878. Daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Show is up through Jan. 4.) $9 (Free Sun 9 a.m.-noon and Wed 3-5 p.m.) 26 Oxford St., Cambridge. 617-495-3045. www.hmnh.harvard.edu

Sail on to the Museum of Science to visit the unspoiled waters off South Africa in "Wild Ocean," an Omni documentary about the annual migration of billions of sardines along the African coast. Spectacular fish-level footage of dolphins, sharks, seabirds, and pulsating clouds of silver sardines reveal a world unseen from any luxury ocean liner. Thursday shows: 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m. $9 ($6.50 after 6 p.m.) 1 Science Park, Boston. 617-723-2500. www.mos.org

Then cast off for the Revels Summer Pub Sing on the seaside patio of the Daily Catch. Exercise your vocal cords by singing sea chanteys and traditional summer songs led by Revels music director George Emlen. Admission includes appetizers and a copy of the "Revels Pocket Pub Sing Book." You can also order food off the Daily Catch menu starting at 6 p.m. 7-9 p.m. $20. 2 Northern Ave., Boston, 617-972-8300. www.revels.org

Sometimes, cubic zirconia sparkles like a diamond in the right light.