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Mote Marine's new laboratory near I-75 will feature the Gulf of Mexico, but miles from saltwater

 One of two large, acyclic windows placed on a building under construction
Andrea Melendez
One of two large, acyclic windows was placed in the Gulf of Mexico habitat. The large acrylic windows have to be installed before the roof it put on. This acrylic piece, which measures 26’ L x 17’ H x 11” W, and weighs 27,900 pounds.

Mote Marine Laboratory’s $130 million science and education aquarium is being built at Nathan Benderson Park along Interstate 75 in Sarasota County.

Two massive windows that will allow visitors to see an under-the-water oceanscape hung high in the air above the 400,000-gallon tank where sea creatures will swim miles from any ocean.

The juxtapositions are two of many at Mote Marine Laboratory’s new $130 million science and education aquarium being built at Nathan Benderson Park along Interstate 75 in Sarasota County.

When complete at the end of next year, the aquarium will be a three-story testament to creative design and engineering for hands-on learning by school children throughout the region as well as visitors from afar.

In children’s lingo, this place is gonna’ be cool!

The building will be part of a 12-acre facility encompassing both land and water, made for children and adults, and considered a milestone between the old and the new at Mote.

 An artist's rendering of the view through one of the giant acrylic panels installed at Mote Marine Laboratory's new aquarium
Mote Marine
/
WGCU
An artist's rendering of the view through one of the giant acrylic panels installed at Mote Marine Laboratory's new aquarium

A normal window bound for a house might weigh 20 pounds. The larger of the two aquarium-wall-sized, curving pieces of carefully molded acrylic, weighs 27,900 and measures 26-feet-long, 17-feet-high, and 11-inches-thick. The other window weighs about 5,000 pounds less and is a “wee” bit smaller.

“We have to get these big pieces of acrylic in before we can complete the second floor and the third floor of the building,” Dan Bebak, a Mote vice president, said during their installation on July 25 and 26. “These acrylic pieces are so large that once the roof was on we couldn't fit them in the building”

Guests will be able to see through the panels and into the massive saltwater tank, which will feature a Gulf of Mexico habitat with sharks, rays, sea turtles, tarpon, snook, red drum, snapper, parrotfish, and coral reef formations.

WGCU Mote Lab 072823


The new aquarium will also house animal habitats, educational labs, scientific demonstrations, and interactive technology to make the place fun while people learn.

Evan Barniskis, a Mote assistant vice president, said the aquarium is expected to attract about 700,000 visitors every year, with the most important being students from Manatee and Sarasota county schools.

“We want to make sure that kids come in at a very early age and learn about the marine environment, become passionate about it, and want to grow and continue to learn about it,” he said. “Hopefully, one day, becoming marine scientists themselves."


Tours will bring visitors behind the scenes and people will be able to scuba dive inside the large Gulf of Mexico aquarium.

“Every day is my favorite part of this project, coming out to this site and seeing the change of seeing everything continue to develop,” Barniskis said. “It's so exciting. It’s a dream come true to be able to be a part of something so amazing.”

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Copyright 2023 WGCU. To see more, visit WGCU.

Andrea Melendez and Tom Bayles
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