Florida Aquarium
Encyclopedia
The Florida Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, publicly operated institution located in Tampa
, Florida
, United States
. It is a large scale, 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) aquarium and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
. The facility is home to more than 20,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida
and all over the world. The facility is located in the Channel District
of Downtown Tampa
. The Florida Aquarium opened in March 1995 as a privately funded entity, and became a public-private partnership when the city of Tampa assumed responsibility for its debt in 1999.
The aquarium fell into financial debt. In response to the crisis, the city of Tampa took over The Florida Aquarium's mortgage
and debt in 1999. Managers at the institution were forced to lay off or demote roughly one-third of the aquarium's total staff.
Though it struggled in its early years, The Florida Aquarium reinvented itself and made entertainment a key aspect of its mission, incorporating fun and exciting ways to instill strong messages about the importance of Florida's natural resources and educating 100,000 school children each year.
Jeff Swanagan
became CEO of the Florida Aquarium in 1998 and is credited with turning around the troubled institution. Swanagan loosened the aquarium's previous emphasis on science and Florida wildlife. He introduced several new exhibits featuring flora
and fauna
from other regions of the world to attract new and returning visitors to the aquarium. New exhibitions overseen by Swanagan included the "Dragons Down Under", which features leafy sea dragon
s that are native to the waters off Australia
; an albino alligator
; and an exhibit featuring snakes and bat
s called "Frights of the Forest". A sting ray was even nicknamed "Roseanne Barb" by a marketing
department in an attempt to attract attention to the aquarium.
Under Swanagan, The Florida Aquarium was able to return to financial stability. The aquarium was able to pay off approximately 3 million dollars in debt by 2002. He was also able to slash the annual subsidy
provided to the aquarium from the city of Tampa from $1.1 million to 700,000 dollars.
The number of visitors to the Florida Aquarium also rose during Swanagan's tenure as CEO. Total yearly attendance rose from 545,000 visitors to a record high of 620,000 in 2002.
Jeff Swanagan departed The Florida Aquarium in 2002 to become the first president of Georgia Aquarium
.
Thom Stork became President and CEO following Swanagan's departure for Georgia and continued the financial successes of his predecessor. In 2005, under Stork, The Florida Aquarium added Explore A Shore, a 2-acre outdoor, water adventure play area for children adjacent to the Caribbean Cantina. Average time spent at the aquarium doubled and response to the new water adventure zone was excellent. In the fall of 2008, The Florida Aquarium took one of its four galleries, Sea Hunt, and transformed the subdued gallery into the vibrant and interactive, Ocean Commotion gallery. Ocean Commotion brought high technology in to an Aquarium for the first time, using "smart wi-fi' that was location aware to transmit additional content and information directly to a guest's smart phone.
In 2011, The Florida Aquarium added large sand tiger sharks to its signature exhibit, the Coral Reef, which holds 500,000 gallons of natural saltwater (delivered by barge 4 times a year) and moved their popular Dive with the Sharks program from Shark Bay to the Coral Reef with the new sand tiger sharks.
Following 11 consecutive years of financial stability and operating in the black, the aquarium plans expansions over several phases for the future. The expansion includes new, state-of-the-art classrooms, changing exhibit space, an off-site rehabilitation and research facility and an exciting event center for hosting conventions, seminars, weddings and other special events.
While The Florida Aquarium is best known as a world-class attraction in downtown Tampa, Florida, the aquarium is also an established education resource having had its 1-Millionth student in 2011 and a research and conservation facility with current projects on coral propagation, underwater archaeology and sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation.
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 500,000 gallon tank. Its mission is to "entertain, education and inspire stewardship of the natural environment." The newest section is Ocean Commotion, which replaced the Sea Hunt section.
http://www.coastalliving.com/travel/top-10/top-10-aquariums-00400000000285/
http://thevacationer.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/best-aquariums-in-the-us/
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a large scale, 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) aquarium and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...
. The facility is home to more than 20,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and all over the world. The facility is located in the Channel District
Channel District, Tampa
Channelside is a residential and entertainment district just east of Downtown Tampa, Florida, USA. It is bordered by Ybor Channel on the east and Garrison Channel on the south...
of Downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa
Image:Tampa_Skyline.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Downtown Tampa looking from the Hillsborough Riverpoly 2403 537 2441 500 2488 483 2516 455 2566 439 2597 410 2649 390 2682 358 2803 315 2949 342 2956 362 3068 383 3074 406 3202 431 3204 447 3332 473 3350 484 3485 1616 2446 1587 Wachovia Centerpoly 1745 1216...
. The Florida Aquarium opened in March 1995 as a privately funded entity, and became a public-private partnership when the city of Tampa assumed responsibility for its debt in 1999.
History
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 aquarium fell into financial debt. In response to the crisis, the city of Tampa took over The Florida Aquarium's mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
and debt in 1999. Managers at the institution were forced to lay off or demote roughly one-third of the aquarium's total staff.
Though it struggled in its early years, The Florida Aquarium reinvented itself and made entertainment a key aspect of its mission, incorporating fun and exciting ways to instill strong messages about the importance of Florida's natural resources and educating 100,000 school children each year.
Jeff Swanagan
Jeffery Scott Swanagan was an American director of several major aquariums and zoos in the United States, including the Florida Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium and the Columbus Zoo...
became CEO of the Florida Aquarium in 1998 and is credited with turning around the troubled institution. Swanagan loosened the aquarium's previous emphasis on science and Florida wildlife. He introduced several new exhibits featuring flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
from other regions of the world to attract new and returning visitors to the aquarium. New exhibitions overseen by Swanagan included the "Dragons Down Under", which features leafy sea dragon
Leafy sea dragon
The leafy seadragon or Glauert's seadragon, Phycodurus eques, is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, which also includes the seahorses. It is the only member of the genus Phycodurus. It is found along the southern and western coasts of Australia. The name is derived from the appearance, with...
s that are native to the waters off Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
; an albino alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
; and an exhibit featuring snakes and bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s called "Frights of the Forest". A sting ray was even nicknamed "Roseanne Barb" by a marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
department in an attempt to attract attention to the aquarium.
Under Swanagan, The Florida Aquarium was able to return to financial stability. The aquarium was able to pay off approximately 3 million dollars in debt by 2002. He was also able to slash the annual subsidy
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
provided to the aquarium from the city of Tampa from $1.1 million to 700,000 dollars.
The number of visitors to the Florida Aquarium also rose during Swanagan's tenure as CEO. Total yearly attendance rose from 545,000 visitors to a record high of 620,000 in 2002.
Jeff Swanagan departed The Florida Aquarium in 2002 to become the first president of Georgia Aquarium
Georgia Aquarium
The Georgia Aquarium, located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, at Pemberton Place, is the world's largest aquarium with more than of marine and fresh water housing more than 120,000 animals of 500 different species...
.
Thom Stork became President and CEO following Swanagan's departure for Georgia and continued the financial successes of his predecessor. In 2005, under Stork, The Florida Aquarium added Explore A Shore, a 2-acre outdoor, water adventure play area for children adjacent to the Caribbean Cantina. Average time spent at the aquarium doubled and response to the new water adventure zone was excellent. In the fall of 2008, The Florida Aquarium took one of its four galleries, Sea Hunt, and transformed the subdued gallery into the vibrant and interactive, Ocean Commotion gallery. Ocean Commotion brought high technology in to an Aquarium for the first time, using "smart wi-fi' that was location aware to transmit additional content and information directly to a guest's smart phone.
In 2011, The Florida Aquarium added large sand tiger sharks to its signature exhibit, the Coral Reef, which holds 500,000 gallons of natural saltwater (delivered by barge 4 times a year) and moved their popular Dive with the Sharks program from Shark Bay to the Coral Reef with the new sand tiger sharks.
Following 11 consecutive years of financial stability and operating in the black, the aquarium plans expansions over several phases for the future. The expansion includes new, state-of-the-art classrooms, changing exhibit space, an off-site rehabilitation and research facility and an exciting event center for hosting conventions, seminars, weddings and other special events.
While The Florida Aquarium is best known as a world-class attraction in downtown Tampa, Florida, the aquarium is also an established education resource having had its 1-Millionth student in 2011 and a research and conservation facility with current projects on coral propagation, underwater archaeology and sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation.
Exhibits
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 springsSpring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
out to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. Exhibits include a large simulated wetlands exhibit located under a tall glass atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
, a simulated beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
, and a coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
community housed in a 500,000 gallon tank. Its mission is to "entertain, education and inspire stewardship of the natural environment." The newest section is Ocean Commotion, which replaced the Sea Hunt section.
External links
http://www.parents.com/fun/vacation/us-destinations/10-best-aquariums-for-kids/?page=6http://www.coastalliving.com/travel/top-10/top-10-aquariums-00400000000285/
http://thevacationer.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/best-aquariums-in-the-us/