Amenities

Aquarium, eco boat tours, educational programs, guided group tours, self-guide pamphlets, aquarium interpreter volunteers, interpretive signs, diner with indoor and outdoor tables, gift shops, ADA compliant facilities, rental space, benches, parking, restrooms, water fountains, recycling bins

Experiences

At Mote Aquarium you can explore the secrets of the sea through touch pools, viewable working labs, and high-tech interactive exhibits that showcase the world-renowned research of the adjoining Mote Marine Laboratory. See more than 100 marine species – most found in Florida waters – including sharks, dolphins, manatees, sea turtles and fish of all shapes and sizes. At Mote’s new exhibit, Sea Turtles: Ancient Survivors, guests can visit real sea turtles and learn how these ancient creatures outlived the dinosaurs, but need our help to survive today. General admission includes access to Mote Aquarium, the Ann and Alfred Goldstein Marine Mammal Research and Rehabilitation Center and the Immersion Cinema. The Cinema is a high-tech theater where you can enjoy group games on touch screens and see the underwater action play out on a 40 foot wide HD movie screen. Mote offers a variety of educational programs for people of all ages, as well as volunteer and internship opportunities.

History

Dr. Eugenie Clark founded Mote Marine Laboratory – originally called Cape Haze Marine Laboratory – in Charlotte County in 1955. Her early research included the first studies showing that sharks could learn through training. The Lab relocated to Siesta Key in Sarasota County in 1960, and then to its current home on City Island in 1978. In 1967, the Lab was re-named in honor of a crucial benefactor, William R. Mote, who retired from the transportation industry and chose to give back to the sea he loved. In 1980, Mote Aquarium opened. Today Mote has seven centers of marine and coastal research.

Habitats

Marine

Acreage

11 acres

Watershed

Sarasota Bay

Who Owns and Maintains

Mote is an independent, nonprofit organization whose research and education programs are funded by state, federal and private grants, donations, memberships, aquarium admissions and other sources.

Website

www.mote.org

SCAT Bus stop and route

Route 18; Ken Thompson Pkwy