South Carolina Aquarium

Programs: Facilities program services include all costs associated with the maintenance and operation of the 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. The aquarium is undergoing a major energy performance project to replace our current natural gas and electric power infrastructure which will result in significant energy and cost savings when completed. Husbandry program services are designed to continuously collect and maintain animals for the exhibits that are displayed in the aquarium facilities. Currently the aquarium holds 4,660 specimens of animals within 268 species. During the past year we distributed nearly 40,000 pounds of seafood to our animals. The aquarium completed its new sea turtle care center and zucker family sea turtle recovery center, a state-of-the-art on our main floor so that every guest can observe the care and rehabilitation and education related to these threatened and endangered species; and increased our capacity to care for more sea turtles and educating moreguests on sea turtle conservation. Our seven new tanks in the zucker family sea turtle recovery center enables the sea turtle care center to double it capacity to care for sick and injued sea turtles.

external affairs include all media and community relations programs during the year. The program also includes all the aquariums year-round special events as well as group experiences. The south carolina aquarium annually welcomes over 450,000 guests though general admission, special events and group visits. Our mission is to inspire conservation of the natural world by exhibiting and caring for animals, by excelling in education and research, and by providing an exceptional visitor experience. As a 501c3 not-for-profit organization we rely on the support of paying guests, members, foundations and the generosity of our donors. Special year round programs and events are held to promote the care of our oceans and the aquariums conservation initiatives, good catch which celebrates sustainable seafood and our sea turtle care center which has rehabilitated over 200 sea turtles and positioned itself to be a worldwide leader in sea turtle rehabilitation.

guest program services include admissions, security staff, and environmental services. Providing new and exciting exhibits and installations to enhance the visitor experience, the sca both educates and entertains. From live interaction with educators, to dive shows in the great ocean tank, to upgraded technology throughout the aquarium, we have developed a new and 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 450,000. It is estimated by the local chamber of commerce that the aquarium's presence in the community directly and indirectly generates more than 247 million to the local economy each year.

husbandry: husbandry program services are designed to continuously collect and maintain animals for the exhibits that are displayed in the aquarium facilities. Currently the aquarium holds 4,660 specimens of animals within 268 species. During the past year we distributed nearly 40,000 pounds of seafood to our animals. The aquarium completed its new sea turtle care center and zucker family sea turtle recovery center, a state-of-the-art on our main floor so that every guest can observe the care and rehabilitation and education related to these threatened and endangered species; and increased our capacity to care for more sea turtles and educating moreguests on sea turtle conservation. Our seven new tanks in the zucker family sea turtle recovery center enables the sea turtle care center to double it capacity to care for sick and injued sea turtles. 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 structured school program that allows k-12 students to participate in hands-on activities to reinforce the standards- based concepts introduced in the classroom. 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. The aquarium has established a position of director of conservation to lead our ever- expanding influence on conservation efforts in the region. Our sea turtle care center rehabilitates sick and injured sea turtles, educates the public about conservation of endangered and threatened sea turtles, and has released nearly 250 rehabilitated sea turtles since its inception in 2000. During 2017, the sca opened zucker family sea turtle recovery that creates a revolutionary learning landscape that awakens passion amoung every guest. The mcnair center for sea turtle conservation and research has lauched a world-class research program, makng the sca an eminent destination for innovative animal care in our region. The sca is working to reduce the negative impact of plastics on our environment by continuing to explore and promote ways to minimize the use of single-use plastics. Our breaking down plastic conference included 535 participants at a daylong event convening top authorities in policy, advocacy, and inovation to discuss methods for tackling plastic pollution. The sca completed a project wiht mdi biological laboratory to create the south carolina aquarium citizen science app to log pieces of trash cleaned up and logged in the litter-free journal. 137 thousand pieces of trash were logged. We reached over 700 people at five coastal town hall meetings from myrtle beach to savannah addessing the impact of rising sea levels. Membership development: membership development includes all activities to develop relationships with prosective members, administration of the membership program and production of the member experience.