toddler explodes into the dimly 

 lit "Graveyard of the Atlantic" exhibit hall at 

 the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke 

 Island. He squeals with excitement, "Mommy, 

 Mommy. Sharks! See the sharks!" 



He presses his face against the see- 

 through wall of the two-story ocean tank, 

 mesmerized by the motion of the sharks and a 

 silvery array of aquatic life before him. As one 

 of the sharks swims close to his vantage point, 

 the boy exclaims with delight. "Wow!" 

 The "wow" factor is an important part 



AQUARIUM 



of the visitor experience at the state's three 

 aquariums, says David Griffin, director of 

 North Carolina Aquariums. The state-supported 

 public education facilities at Roanoke Island, 

 Fort Fisher and Pine Knoll Shores are designed 

 "to inspire appreciation and conservation of 

 North Carolina's aquatic environments." 



"Our approach to environmental 

 education can't be cut and dry. We have to 

 make it fun, entertaining and engaging, so 

 that visitors walk out knowing more about 

 North Carolina's aquatic life because of their 

 experience," Griffin says. 



Somewhere between the toothy sharks 

 swimming in the ocean tank and grinning 

 alligators soaking in a freshwater pond beneath 

 a soaring conservatory roof, one thing becomes 

 clear: This is not your daddy's aquarium. 



A lot has changed since the three sites 

 opened in 1976 as Marine Resource Centers 

 meant to enhance coastal and marine science 

 and education for researchers, teachers and the 

 public. 



With the renaming of the centers as 

 aquariums in 1986 came modest expansion and 

 an evolving educational mission. That same 

 year, the North Carolina Aquarium Society, a 

 statewide nonprofit group, was established to 



help raise public interest and financial support 

 for the three aquariums. 



Attendance grew as coastal tourism 

 flourished. 



"The three aquariums have become 

 a major component of North Carolina's 

 tourism industry," says Robert Roush, 

 public information officer at the Fort Fisher 

 Aquarium. "With about a million visitors 

 combined annually, they are among the top 

 attractions in the state. Studies show they 

 directly contribute more than $27 million to 

 the state's economy 

 each year," he says. 



EXTREME 

 MAKEOVERS 



By 1989, state 

 officials recognized 

 that the aging aquariums couldn't keep pace 

 with increasing attendance — and visitor 

 expectations. 



So the N.C. General Assembly budgeted 

 money to implement "extreme makeovers" at 

 all three sites. The aquarium society pledged 

 to raise additional donations from the private 

 sector to augment the $15 million state 

 allocation for each project. In addition, part of 

 the admission fees from each aquarium would 

 be dedicated to the building program. 



The expansion program would enable 

 each facility to grow in size, increase five 

 animal exhibits, create state-of-the-art 

 interactive displays, and multiply education 

 programs and events. Each could portray 

 the biodiversity of aquatic life within varied 

 habitats — from freshwater streams, ditches 

 and swamps to tidal rivers, shallow sounds and 

 ocean depths. 



The challenge for today's aquariums, 

 zoos and living museums is to grab the 

 attention of a generation accustomed to 

 the multimedia world of entertainment and 

 education, says JP McCann, director of the 

 Roanoke Island facility. "New facilities allow 

 us to integrate education into an entertaining 

 delivery system," he says. 



A transformed Roanoke Island aquarium 

 — first to come on line in 2000 after a two-year 

 rebuilding process — highlights aquatic life in 

 "The Waters of the Outer Banks." Four sand 

 tiger sharks prowl its 285,000-gallon ocean tank 

 that is complete with a sunken model of the 

 Civil War ironclad, the USS Monitor. 



Then came Fort Fisher in 2002, featuring 

 "The Waters of the Cape Fear." Its 235,000- 

 gallon tank features inhabitants of an offshore 

 ocean reef, including sharks, stingrays, groupers 

 and moray eels. 



The timetable for the Pine Knoll Shores 

 Aquarium hit a snag in 1999. Renovation funds 

 were diverted to help with recovery efforts 

 when multiple hurricanes, including Hurricane 

 Floyd's historic flooding, devastated Eastern 

 North Carolina. 



The wait will be over in May 2006 

 when the new facility opens its doors on a 

 "Mountains to Sea" theme, complete with a 

 two-story mountain waterfall. Other features 

 include a 310,000-gallon ocean tank, with a 

 full complement of sea life swimming about a 

 replica of U-352, a German submarine that sank 

 off Cape Lookout in 1942. 



While the aquarium is closed to the 

 public during the construction, the Pine Knoll 

 Shores staff is operating programs from a 

 former Atlantic Beach supermarket. Part of the 

 aquarium's collection waits out the makeover 

 in holding tanks in refitted grocery store space. 

 Others are being cared for at sister aquariums. 



NATURE AND NURTURE 



There's much more to these aquariums 

 than meets the public eye. Griffin says. The first 

 thing you notice as you push through any "staff 

 only" door is the hospital-like environment. 

 Cleanliness rules. 



A small, efficient and highly skilled team 

 of specialists is dedicated to the health and 

 welfare of more than 2,500 living creatures, 

 Griffin adds. The work of a core staff of 

 full- and part-time employees is amplified by 

 a cadre of trained volunteers, junior aquarists 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 7 



