The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores announces the grand opening of its newly reimagined Future Waters gallery, opening to the public on May 23. After three years of meticulous planning, design, and construction, the gallery promises an immersive, hands-on experience that connects guests directly with the Aquarium’s conservation and sustainability efforts. The Aquarium is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The highly anticipated, brightly colored, comic-themed gallery is a transformative addition to the Aquarium’s visitor experience. The gallery features interactive exhibits, a 1,500-gallon saltwater coral reef habitat called Conservation Cove, and working labs that highlight the Aquarium’s sustainable aquaculture efforts and the Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project (FRTRP).
“Before this gallery, much of our conservation work took place behind the scenes. This updated gallery now highlights these efforts and provides guests with interactive opportunities to experience these amazing ongoing conservation projects,” said Clint Taylor, NCAPKS director.
The Future Waters gallery was made possible by a $240,808 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the largest ever awarded to the North Carolina Aquariums by the IMLS.
Interactive Learning
At the heart of the gallery is a focus on education and future-focused conservation themes.
The design features large-scale, sculptural coral reefs, a projection mapping interactive where visitors can touch icons that trigger comic-style animations explaining each step in the aquaculture process, videos that interpret coral restoration and aquaculture, interactive microscope, a 360-degree interactive video kiosk that puts guests underwater during coral restoration, and many other tactile components.
The ACT Lab:
A major highlight of the gallery is the Aquarium Conservation and Technology (ACT) Lab. The ACT Lab invites visitors to observe aquarists as they raise marine species from eggs laid within the Aquarium’s habitats.
“Since initiating the aquaculture program across the NC Aquariums Division, the team has propagated over 23 different species collectively. Many of them have been shared with numerous facilities throughout the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) community through larval rearing programs and species survival plans,” Trent Boyette, NCAPKS husbandry curator.
The Coral Lab:
In the adjacent lab, guests can view live corals growing as part of the Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project (FRTRP). The FRTRP Lab in Future Waters will serve as a grow-out facility for endangered corals.
Currently, there are approximately eight approved spawning facilities and over 20 grow-out facilities with increasing numbers of participants every year. The ultimate goal of the FRTRP is to spawn these corals, grow them up, and then return them to the Florida Keys in hopes of restoring the area’s coral reef.
The new Future Waters gallery will open to the public on May 23. General admission and membership reservations can be made online in advance by visiting www.ncaquariums.com/pine-knoll-shores.
About the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is five miles west of Atlantic Beach at 1 Roosevelt Blvd., Pine Knoll Shores, N.C. 28512. The Aquarium is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily. Its mission is to inspire the appreciation and conservation of North Carolina’s aquatic environments and animals. The Aquarium is under the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. For more information, please visit www.ncaquariums.com/pine-knoll-shores or call 252-247-4003.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.