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Invigorating our Aquarium & our community

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‘Tour’ the inside of Mote’s new Aquarium for the first time!

In November 2020, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium officially broke ground for the new Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA) at Nathan Benderson Park. Federal, state, and local government officials, Mote Trustees and supporters, and other community partners came together to celebrate the occasion.

Since then, the whole Mote family has been humbled by the excitement of our community and supporters. As this annual report went to press, $90 million had been committed by our philanthropic, public and corporate supporters in the $130-million Oceans for All campaign to create Mote SEA. We’re immensely grateful for every gift, and for every person and organization who has helped so far, including first-time donors who pledged about 84% of the total.

These supporters know that incredible things are in store. And now, we can do much more than describe what’s in store—we can show you, thanks to our new virtual tour of the interior of Mote SEA!

Mote SEA, a rebirth of Mote Aquarium, will be an iconic facility at a nexus location for Sarasota and Manatee counties and the entire southwest Florida region. Reaching nearly 700,000 visitors per year, Mote SEA will inspire the next generation of marine scientists while serving as a major tourism and economic driver for the greater Sarasota-Manatee region. Three state-of-the-art STEM teaching labs will bring marine science to life for thousands of school children, at no cost to Sarasota and Manatee county school districts.

Here is the progress we’re celebrating this year:

  • The Mote SEA site has been busy with teams operating heavy equipment to complete phase 1 of the Mote SEA development effort: grounds work. Construction teams have prepared and paved the southern end of Mote SEA’s future parking lot and partially completed the northern end of the lot so it can serve as a staging area for the next steps in site work and ultimately construction. After the fiscal year ended, the southern end of the parking lot was made available to the public for the holiday parade at University Town Center, where Mote joined the community to celebrate the season, and for a regatta in Nathan Benderson Park.

  • In September 2021, Sarasota County commissioners approved the launch of phase 2—more extensive site preparation to make way for phase 3, vertical construction projected to start by late 2022. As the fiscal year ended, Mote was preparing to launch phase 2—securing the dirt that will be packed and settled as the base for Mote SEA (which will include dirt from the bottom of the adjacent lake), replacing drainage pipes between lakes at the north end of the park, and completing additional site work.

  • This year, our project team completed the full blueprint for the vertical construction of Mote SEA. As this annual report went to press, the blueprint was with Sarasota County for review. 

  • As Mote SEA came a big step closer to reality this year, we received an incredibly warm welcome from the UTC community. Here’s what leaders at businesses in the region had to say:

    • Tom Jones, General Manager of Ford’s Garage: “As University Town Center continues to grow, we couldn’t be more excited to welcome Mote SEA to our family of businesses in the area! The Ford’s Garage brand and all of its team members prides itself on creating great relationships with neighboring companies both large and small. We believe that the educational and family oriented experience that Mote SEA will bring to the community will benefit our demographic very well, making our new friends at Mote SEA an integral piece of our daily business!”

    • Aleyda Hage, General Manager of Homewood Suites Sarasota Lakewood Ranch: “Homewood Suites Sarasota Lakewood Ranch is excited to partner with Mote SEA. We are confident that leisure and corporate travelers and area residents alike will be thrilled by all that our new neighbor has to offer. We are confident that the science and education programs and offerings, and state-of-the-art facility, will further enhance the guest experience in our thriving tourist and commercial area. We can’t wait to welcome Mote SEA to the UTC area.”

    • Jose Ayala, General Manager of The Mall at University Town Center: “We are very excited that the Mote Science Education Aquarium will be built adjacent to our mall, providing new educational opportunities to local residents, and also tourists who visit our area.”

    • Melissa Sullivan, Director of Marketing at Popstroke: “Mote SEA is going to be a world-class facility. We are so excited to be joining the UTC community and have such a treasure as our neighbor.”

    • Ruben Bake, Franchise Owner for RowHouse: "We could not be happier to share this area with such a well respected, educational and fun venue."

Making ocean science wildly popular

This year, 306,650 people visited our current Mote Aquarium on City Island, Sarasota—an exciting revival of on-site engagement after the Aquarium closed temporarily in 2020 to adapt its high levels of health-safety measures for COVID-19. Mote Aquarium tickets and memberships provide vital support to Mote Marine Laboratory’s research dedicated to the future of our oceans.

  • From April 2021 through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30, Mote had more visitors each month than it did in the two years before the pandemic, 2018-19. Our visitors were wowed by the limited-time exhibit “Wild Kratts®: Ocean Adventure!”—an immersive experience created by Minnesota Children’s Museum and the creators of the top-rated PBS Kids TV series “Wild Kratts®”. The exhibit was sponsored locally in part by the Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax.

  • Mote Aquarium continued to rank among the top 10% of attractions on TripAdvisor this year, earning us a 2021 Travelers’ Choice Award. Travelers’ Choice Awards honor accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers on TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com), which describes itself as the world's largest travel guidance platform.

  • In early September, Mote Aquarium unveiled its newly redesigned Manatee County Manatee Habitat! The new signage and children’s play area at one of Mote Aquarium’s most popular exhibits will educate guests about the threats that manatees face in nearby waters and how Mote scientists are working to save them. Guests will also benefit from learning about the exciting experiences that are offered in Manatee County, from exploring the arts districts in Bradenton to the excellent beaches along the barrier islands.

    Manatee County’s sponsorship will continue forward at the new Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA). In September 2020, the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners voted to provide $5 million towards the project, which will draw hundreds of thousands of visitors and also provide free STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) educational experiences to area schools, including those in Manatee County. Several commissioners were in attendance at the unveiling, and they even got to experience a manatee training session

with resident manatees Hugh and Buffett up close. Hugh and Buffett continue to thrive at Mote and are ready to meet the visitors who come to learn and play in our upgraded exhibit.

  • Mote was designated an Autism Friendly Business by the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at University of South Florida. This means key members of Mote’s team have participated in training that helps us provide those with autism a welcoming, compassionate and nonjudgmental environment. It also means that Mote provides resources to support guests with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or sensory differences before and during their visits.

    Specifically, Mote has a limited number of sensory-friendly backpacks available to be borrowed (with ID exchange) at the front desk of our Aquarium. Guests can also prepare for their visit and learn about what’s in the backpacks by downloading our Sensory Guide.

  • This year, 421 marine animal species called Mote Aquarium home—21 more than we reported in 2020.

    • The rescued corals in Mote’s care are doing so well that they’ve outgrown their space behind the scenes. As the fiscal year concluded, the corals were moving into a new habitat where Mote Aquarium visitors can now see them up close—right next to Mote’s Aquarium Conservation Lab and Deep Sea Diner. These “celebrity” corals help us introduce visitors to the many active projects Mote is leading behind the scenes, including our research, coral restoration and International Coral Gene Bank.

    • Mote’s newest arrivals include the roseate spoonbills—wacky and wonderful pink birds in our beautiful, upgraded Florida Watershed exhibit. The exhibit incorporates and expands upon the theme of healthy watersheds that we’ve continued to promote by featuring our American alligator and North American river otters.

  • Behavior research with Mote’s North American river otters is starting to produce results that could help us better understand their species. By training the three resident otters to participate in simple activities—such as choosing between familiar and new objects in the pursuit of a food reward—the scientists learned that these otters might be attracted to novelty, but some otters are more novelty-seeking and flexible in their behavior than others.