The Mote Aquarium – Come Explore The Ocean
At the Mote Aquarium, you’ll run into a 135,000 gallon habitat for sharks, jellyfish, turtles, two unique manatees, two touch pools, along with a mollusk exhibit that includes a 25 foot giant squid (preserved) – truly a beautiful aquarium.
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Face-to-Face With Marine Mysteries in Sarasota
January 13, 2012
The Mote Aquarium in Sarasota has about 400,000 visitors every year. The aquarium houses diverse forms of marine life, showcasing the smallest ocean critters to massive predators. The exhibit is also an avenue to highlight the marine research that goes on at the Mote Marine Laboratory
The Mote Aquarium also has guides who are trained to take your questions and offer you an interactive and fun experience.
This aquarium is especially fun for kids as they get touch sea animals like stingrays and watch sharks in a shark tank.
Mote Aquarium
The Mote Aquarium, part of the famous Mote Marine Laboratory complex, covers a broader range of marine life than Tampa's Florida Aquarium, which focuses more on the local marine life. The Aquarium sits on City Island, which is only a few minutes from downtown Sarasota on the Ringling Causeway and a mile north of the St. Armands Circle.
At the Mote Aquarium, you'll have a chance to explore the secrets of the ocean with touch pools and exhibits with sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, and manatees. You might also be interested in taking a peek at the work that goes on in the Mote Marine Lab and the showcased high-tech interactive displays. While at the aquarium, don't miss the manatees at the Marine Mammal Center. The Center is only a block's walk from the aquarium.
You might want to begin your trip by viewing a 12-minute film on the feeding habits of sharks. Give yourself a minimum of an hour and a half to go through the land exhibits. You would easily require another two hours to participated in the Sarasota Bay Explorers' narrated sea encounter cruise.
In case you're up to having dinner at the aquarium, Mancini Diners Inc. offers fine food and excellent service at the Mote Aquarium's Deep Sea Diner. This diner is exclusively open to visitors and members of the Mote Aquarium and you can opt for dining al-fresco or indoors.
Mote Aquarium is accredited by the Association of the Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and because of this Mote has complied with the rigorous standards for veterinary care, wildlife conservation, animal management, research, safety, education, and staffing.
The Mote Aquarium is open from 10 am - 5 pm, every day of the week, and that includes holidays. General admission to the aquarium includes access to the Ann and Alfred E. Goldstein Marine Mammal as well as the Immersion Cinema. Tickets are available at the following rates: Adults (12+) - $17; Seniors (65+) - $16; Youth (4-12) - $12; Children (under 4) - Admission is free; Mote Members - free. Annual membership to the Mote Aquarium starts at $50.
The Goldstein Center is where the Mote's Animal Care Program is located, an adjunct to the Mote Aquarium. This unique program works to rehabilitate sea animals like whales, sea turtles, and dolphins. The Mote Lab's Stranding Investigation Program brings these sea creatures here. The Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital, and the Dolphin and Whale Hospital, these special mammals are treated until they are strong enough to be returned to the wild.
However, sometimes these animals are not able to take care of themselves in the wild despite improvements in health. With the backing of state and federal authorities that regulate the care of these animals, they sometimes become permanent residents at Mote.
Another fun filled adventure is the Immersion Cinema. This state-of-the-art theater has a 40-foot wide, HD screen that enables you to play on an interactive user's console and determine the outcome of the featured game and movie.
1600 Ken Thompson Parkway
Sarasota , Florida 34236
(941) 388-2451
http://www.mote.org