Florida Aquarium

Aquarium in Florida, USA
On May 8, 2017, it was announced that the aquarium hired Roger Germann as its new president and CEO. Germann came from the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, where he was executive vice president for 16 years, and also served on the advisory board of the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.

Before the Florida Aquarium was constructed in Channelside of Downtown Tampa, it was formally known as the Clearwater Marine Science Center located on Clearwater Beach. It wasn’t until 1992 that the Tampa City Council accepted the Florida Aquarium’s proposed plan to begin construction in its new downtown location. The Florida Aquarium was largely constructed using borrowed money amid inflated projections that high attendance and ticket sales would pay off the incurred debt. However, after the aquarium opened in March 1995, the number of visitors and tourists fell well below expectations.

The Florida Aquarium's exhibits are laid out to show the journey of a drop of water from one of Florida's many fresh water springs out to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Exhibits include a large simulated wetlands exhibit located under a tall glass atrium, a simulated beach, and a coral reef community housed in a tank. The newest section is Waves of Wonder and Heart of the Seas gallery, which replaced the OceanCommotion section, and there are many expansion projects to open in the upcoming years (2023 2025). The Morph'd changing exhibit is set to open in mid 2023 and will feature animals with amazing adaptations.

Over the course of 250 years, the state of Florida has seen 50% of its coral disappear, due to pollution, climate change, human contact, bleaching, and now the idiopathic disease known as Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) that is killing the U. S.'s only inshore reef tract, spanning almost the entirety of it, and affecting 22 different species of stony corals to the point of suffering complete mortality. To fight this loss, and attempt to save the coral – of extreme importance to the well being of the state the Florida Aquarium has joined a consortium led by the University of Miami, including NOVA Southeastern University, coral conservation organization SECORE International, and the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum. The goal is to restore 125 acres of coral reef by planting 150,000 coral colonies, including five species of coral, by 2022. In 2020, Florida Aquarium was the first to ever successfully reproduce Ridged Cactus Coral. Scientists are now taking care of the reproduced coral and discovering for the first time basic information on their biology. In 2022 Florida Aquarium scientists successfully reproduced elkhorn coral in the care of marine biologists.

On March 22, 2024 the Florida Aquarium a unveiled a new 4,200 square foot expansion of its Coral Conservation and Research Center at its Apollo Beach campus. The addition expands beyond the current capabilities of the aquarium's coral greenhouses and spawning labs, increasing to over 9,000 square feet specifically dedicated to the conservation, breeding, and nurturing of coral species at risk of extinction in their natural habitats. This includes the breeding of 14 unique coral species within the aquarium's coral center, species that are seldom maintained under human care. One way they accomplish this is through their educational programming. Several times a year adults can attend Evening Tide Talks, which are lectures given by renowned scientists, photographers, explorers, and researchers. Complimentary food, beer, and wine are provided for attendees.

The Aquarium offers field trips, traveling programs, and teacher workshops. Teachers are able to attend the aquarium for free in order to prepare for a field trip. The Aquarium also provides teaching materials that are designed to meet specific Sunshine State Standards/ FCAT Benchmarks. These materials were developed for grades Pre K through 8 and consist of pre and post lessons, scavenger hunts, and lab programs.

Kids and families can enjoy birthday parties, sleepovers, Scout programs, homeschool programs, and Aquatots. Aquatots is a program built for children 3–5 years old that they attend with a parent or guardian. It is "designed to encourage interaction with parent and child through story time, craft making, activity center play and touring the aquarium".

The Aquarium offers both School Year Camps and Summer Camps. School Year Camps coincide with holidays that take place in Hillsborough County during the school year. Children grades K 5 can enjoy activities such as science experiments, aquarium hikes, crafts, and animal encounters. Summer Camps, referred to as Aqua Camps, are available for people ages 3–18. They are centered around animals and their natural environments and include plenty of animal encounters and hands on learning.

New to the aquarium are its virtual education programs including Virtual School Year Programs, Virtual Scouts, Virtual Homeschool, Virtual AquaTots, and Virtual Discoveries in STEM. The school year programs are for students of all ages. The Virtual Scouts align with the Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Scouts BSA programs. The Virtual Homeschool features classes available for homeschool students ages 6 14, and the AquaTots is a preschool program for kids ages 3 5.