THE PIER AQUARIUM INSTALLS INTERACTIVE LEARNING KIOSK ABOUT ESTUARY SCIENCE
Monday, July 09, 2012
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Posted by: Emily Stehle, APR
Contact: Ashley Spencer
PR/Marketing Intern
(727) 803-9799 ext. 207
publicrelations@pieraquarium.org
www.pieraquarium.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE PIER AQUARIUM INSTALLS INTERACTIVE LEARNING KIOSK ABOUT ESTUARY SCIENCE
Display on Loan for the Summer from Alabama
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (July 9, 2012) - The Pier Aquarium recently installed a new interactive learning kiosk, Too Rich for Gulf Waters, on loan for the summer from the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program in Alabama. This new outreach education program, which uses three kiosks, will rotate around the five Gulf Coast states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida) and teach the importance of water to kids in grades K-12.
The Pier Aquarium is the first stop of the traveling kiosk exhibit whichhas short informative lectures, animated videos and entertaining games. Five different programs explain the water cycle and storm water runoff in both English and Spanish. Animated characters, redfish Jimbo and Thibodeaux, "the pair that cares,” guide students through some of the lessons.
Viewers can select from a group of interactive media lessons: The Water Cycle, Streets to Streams, Watershed Address, The Journey of a Raindrop and also watch stewardship videos. A quiz, game or learning activity after each lesson tests the participant’s knowledge.
Video clips of the movie, "A Redfish Tale,” (you can view by clicking on the Stewardship videos button) will help viewers of all ages understand the complex science of hypoxia (reduction in dissolved oxygen content in water), eutrophication (excess nutrients in bodies of water that stimulate excessive plant growth) and non-point source pollution (caused by runoff and human produced pollutants) by translating the big words into simple, everyday lingo. The boy in the video comes to understand how the everyday activities of humans impact our waters, estuaries, habitats, and eventually our own lives. He also learns how to make a difference in his daily behavior and gains a better appreciation of the world around him.
The full 14-minute video of "A Redfish Tale” and the sequel, "FishSlap,” the Mobile Bay National Estuary’s newest video release, can be viewed online at http://www.mobilebaynep.com/videos.
Too Rich for Gulf Waters is a welcome addition to the aquarium’s outdoor exhibit, The Wonder of Water, which illustrates the water cycle on the walls of the Roy G. Harrell, Jr. Education Station on The Pier approach.
Come check out the new exhibit before it checks out Sept. 30!
About the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program www.mobilebaynep.com
 The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program’s mission is to promote responsible stewardship of water quality and living resource management. Its objective is to engage estuary stakeholders in the planning and implementation of a Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan, expand resources and involvement in creating the plan and educate the residents and community about water.
The Too Rich for Gulf Waters kiosk and videos were funded by a grant from the Gulf of Mexico Program.
About The Pier Aquarium
www.pieraquarium.org
Established in 1988, The Pier Aquarium is a private, non-profit aquarium and marine education center located in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida at The Pier. It showcases 17 tanks of live fish and other marine life and educational exhibits on the first and second floors and an outdoor marine laboratory and teaching unit, the Roy G. Harrell, Jr. Education Station, located on the Pier approach.
Its mission is to enhance the public’s understanding of the value and fragility of the local and global marine environment through research, education and personal experiences. The Pier Aquarium serves as the "public face” for the St. Petersburg Ocean Team’s research, innovation and technology. The Ocean Team is a consortium of 14 marine science and oceanographic institutions and environmental research agencies in the Southeast and one of the top such industry clusters in the nation.
More than 65,000 visitors, including 15,000 who participate in our scheduled educational programs, come to The Pier Aquarium annually to attend our Saturday programs, an annual free marine discovery day and Summer Marine Adventures summer camp. Volunteers contribute more than 3,000 hours each year.
The Pier Aquarium has announced a move to John’s Pass Village, Madeira Beach, Florida and expansion to a 13,000 sq. ft. facility called the Secrets of the Sea Marine Discovery Center and Aquarium. The opening is scheduled for Spring 2013.
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