See Sea Life in Sarasota!

My wife Liz and I just returned from a week in Atlanta. Probably like most of you, we have traveled through or around the city on our way somewhere not to mention in and out of Atlanta’s airport. But this is the first time we have actually made Atlanta our destination for a sightseeing trip. We enjoyed the CNN Center, the Botanical Gardens, and the Jimmy Carter Museum and Library. But the best part was The Georgia Aquarium. This surprised us! We obviously have lived by the Gulf of Mexico all our lives and we have the Mote Marine Laboratory, but we decided to go to the Atlanta Aquarium anyway, mainly because it is the largest aquarium in the western hemisphere. It was fantastic…but in a different way than our own Mote Marine. For one thing, it’s really huge compared to Mote and we easily could have spent an entire day there. Also, there were many cold water animals and sea creatures we had never seen, along with the fantastic beluga whales. Did you know that they are the only whales that have ‘necks,’ which allows them to move their heads up and down and side-to-side?

But given all that, we realized that we are so very fortunate to have Mote Marine Laboratory right in our backyard! While the Georgia Aquarium is loaded with great exhibits, Mote is by far the best learning facility for marine science and those interested in nature. So here’s a little information about the six decades of Mote Marine Laboratory.

Mote has a long history of shark expertise, having been founded out of a combined effort by Dr. Eugenie Clark, the “Shark Lady,” and philanthropist Anne Vanderbilt, according to a history on Mote’s website. Clark’s work focused mostly on the behavior of sharks and the lab became known for it, and still is today. Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium is an independent, nonprofit research institution founded in 1955. Mote began and flourished because of the passion of Dr. Eugenie Clark and her partnership with the community and philanthropic support, first of the Vanderbilt family and later of the William R. Mote family. The one-room facility in Placida where it all began doubled as a dock where the wealthy Vanderbilt family could store a boat, and existed chiefly so Eugenie Clark could quietly study the migration patterns of sea life in the Gulf of Mexico. It was known as Cape Haze Marine Laboratory until its 1967 renaming in honor of major benefactors of the laboratory William R. Mote, his wife Lenore, and his sister, Betty Mote Rose. Since 1960, it has been based in Sarasota, Florida, and has been located on City Island since 1978. 

More than six decades later, the laboratory continues to provide a foundation for marine and science-based industry in the region. Today, Mote is one of the top attractions in Sarasota, Florida and has five campuses stretching from Sarasota to the Florida Keys. Mote has more than 20 world-class research programs studying oceans locally to internationally, with an emphasis on conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. Mote’s vision includes positively impacting public policy through science-based outreach and education. Showcasing the Lab’s research is Mote Aquarium. 

On a recent visit to Mote, Liz and I had our eyes really opened about all the plastic pulled from the oceans. All of the art was formed from that plastic and it was something to behold. (see photo of the huge shark made from plastic.) The ‘Sea Debris’ exhibit was a fun and creative way to start a conversation regarding an issue that is affecting all of the world’s oceans on a macro and microscopic scale. The hope was that exhibit opened guests’ eyes, not just to the problem, but to the solutions regarding sea pollution. It sure opened ours!

Ground will be broken in 2020 for a brand new facility, the Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA) will be an iconic, educational and outreach hub that vastly improves access to marine science and technology for an estimated three million residents living within a 60-minute drive and visitors from around the world, representing a rebirth of the current Mote Aquarium. According to Mote’s website, Mote SEA will be built on 12 acres in the Sarasota County-owned land within Nathan Benderson Park. Mote SEA will be an iconic facility with 110,000 square feet containing more than 1 million gallons of exhibits featuring marine life and scientific displays from around the world, onsite diving programs, a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) resource center for students, teachers and the general public, conference and special event space, educational galleries with interactive, advanced, digital and augmented reality technology to enhance learning, two STEM workforce training labs and three K-12 STEM teaching labsMote SEA is expected to be complete in 2022.

If you have never visited Mote Marine Laboratory, it is a ‘must see’ attraction in Sarasota, Florida and just one more reason to live in Sarasota paradise! If you are looking to buy or sell your home or condo in the Sarasota, Englewood, Bradenton area, call me!

Sources and Credits: Mote Marine Laboratory, Mustdo.com, Wikipedia, Your Observer, Sarasota Herald Tribune