South Carolina Aquarium

Facilities program services include all costs associated with the maintenance, security, and operation of a 20+ year-old Aquarium facility, exhibits, and animal life support systems. The 93,000 square foot facility offers a state-of-the-art environmental learning center that encompasses the entire spectrum of the southeast appalachian watershed as found in South Carolina: mountain, piedmont, coastal plain, coast and the ocean. In 2016, the Aquarium completed a major energy performance project to replace current natural gas and electric power infrastructure, which resulted in significant energy and cost savings. (continued on schedule o)

Animal care (husbandry) program services are designed to continuously collect and maintain animals for the exhibits that are displayed in the Aquarium facilities. Currently the Aquarium cares for approximately 5,000 specimens of animals within 250 species. The professional biologists and aquarists at the South Carolina Aquarium deliver excellent care for every animal, maintaining a population that encompasses the diversity of wildlife in our state. (continued on schedule o)

Guest program services include admissions and environmental services. Providing new and exciting exhibits and installations to enhance the visitor experience, the sca both educates and entertains. From interactive daily programming with hands on experiences to upgraded technology throughout the Aquarium, we have developed an exciting interpretive journey to guide guests from the mountains to the sea. The Aquarium today is the charleston region's most visited attraction, with an average annual attendance of 500,000 (including 20,515 students). (continued on schedule o)

Education: over the years, the education program has served more than one million students with educational programming and enriched the careers of more than five thousand teachers. The sca serves as a complementary science education institution providing hands-on learning opportunities for students of all ages. Themed interpretive programs are presented daily by the staff, and are informative and fun for all visitors. The Aquarium has developed a standards-based structure school program that allows k-12 students to participate in hands-on activities to reinforce the standards-based concepts introduced in the classroom. Last school year, the Aquarium welcomed approximately 6,053 students through this program and trained 134 sc teachers. In addition, the Aquarium invested in our distance learning program, hosting virtual programs that have reached over 50,816 participants. A new robot has allowed young patients in the musc and prisma children's hospitals to engage with our staff and exhibits from their hospital room. Meanwhile, our rovers outreach program continued to bring science to life for students throughout South Carolina, reaching 12,888 participants in schools, libraries and adult retirement homes across the state who otherwise may not have had the opportunity to visit the Aquarium in person. Holland lifelong learning, our adult education series, celebrated its eighth season. Throughout the year, we engaged more than 307 participants in critical conversations related to conservation and research. Our paid high school internship program continues to engage budding scientists exploring careers in environmental education and marine science. Conservation: the Aquarium is uniquely positioned to educate and inspire the public to conserve and protect South Carolina's rich and vast biodiversity, and its vulnerable species and their vanishing habitat. As the sole sea turtle hospital in the state of South Carolina, our sea turtle care center rehabilitates sick and injured sea turtles from across the state, educates the public about conservation of endangered and threatened sea turtles, and has released 398 rehabilitated sea turtles since its inception in 2000. During 2023, the Aquarium admitted 36 sea turtle patients and successfully released 36 sea turtles back into the ocean after they were rehabilitated in the zucker family sea turtle recovery. The sca is working to reduce the negative impact of plastics on our environment by collaborating with local partners and organizations to advocate for bans of single-use plastics and by providing the tools and support to empower volunteers across the state to organize, track and report on local litter sweeps and conservation initiatives. The Aquarium's resilience initiative for community engagement (rice) continued its work to inform communities of the risks associated with climate change and sea level rise, and to provide stakeholders with data and tools to plan for a more resilient future. The Aquarium continued its reef research in partnership with the South Carolina department of natural resources. We studied the effects of removing invasive lionfish in artificial reefs located in marine protected areas of the coast. Once again, the Aquarium held its annual julionfish derby and festival, where divers competed to remove as many invasive lionfish as possible from reefs. In 2023, sca re-launched their sustainable seafood program, good catch, which encourages businesses and communities to sell, purchase and consume local (caught between nc and fl), sustainable seafood. The sca also established the good catch seafood connection, a collaborative effort that provides free, local and sustainably harvested seafood to food insecure neighbors in the lowcountry. Membership: membership includes unlimited admission for nearly 11,000 member households. Members also receive additional benefits including access to exclusive member programs and events like fish or treat, early morning toddler programs, yoga for adults, and hands-on offsite experiences like seining and beachcombing. Members receive 20% off of Aquarium aglow tickets, discounted general admission tickets, discounts at local area attractions and businesses, and onsite discounts at the gift shop, snack bar and on souvenir photos. In 2023, members made up over 25% of Aquarium attendance.