Planned Phase I of Aquarius Aquarium
Fresno Realtors, Ken and Carol Maul, attended an Aquarius Aquarium Institute event at Appellation California. The Aquarium hosted the afternoon event for its charter members to thank them for their past support and to update them on a request for a grant that is available through the State of California.
This grant is a result of Proposition 84 which the voters of California approved in 2006 for nature education and facilities. The Aquarius Aquarium is a finalist in this project, and if approved for the $7 million grant, work can start immediately on Phase I of the building which has been designed by award-winning architect, Arthur Dyson, AIA, dean emeritus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.
The Aquarius Aquarium was founded in 2000 by Tom and Aletha Lang who have worked tirelessly for the past 11years to raise funds and public awareness for a public Aquarium in the Fresno area. To that end, the Roy and Betty Jura family donated 10 acres located adjacent to Highway 99 and overlooks Reach 1 of the San Joaquin River Restoration.
The Aquarius Aquarium will feature the San Joaquin River. It will be a major regional tourism destination and an educational resource for students of all ages. In addition, it will offer employment opportunities for our Valley, it will serve to beautify the Highway 99 corridor and it will be an entertainment and recreational center.
The following discusses the many programs that are currently available through the Aquarius Aquarium:
Teaching Tidepools is our highly-popular original outreach program further developed with First 5 Fresno County to give San Joaquin Valley preschool and kindergarten children the opportunity to see and touch our living California tide pool animal collection and interact with two of our staff educators right in their own classrooms. Students experience the sea creatures along with an entertaining, interactive standards-based curriculum teachers love. Fees are $175 for the first 45 minute preschool or kindergarten class (up to 30 children) and $75 per additional class on the same day at the same school site and we gladly accept most school district purchase orders. Mileage and additional time fees apply to classes outside the Fresno/Clovis metropolitan area. Please email us today for more information or to schedule your class. Click here to view our flier (PDF).
We also come to birthday parties which makes learning with family and friends really fun! Birthday parties are $250 for a two-hour visit with presentation, game, Tidepools! sing-a-long and party favors all designed for children 10 years old and under. A personalized, ocean-themed cake is available at additional charge. Please email us today for more information or to schedule your party.
AND… if you have a swimming pool or access to a pool, our PADI certified SCUBA instructor can also be booked along with Teaching Tidepools birthday parties to take kids on a safe underwater SCUBA adventure right in their own backyard! All SCUBA gear, air tanks and digital underwater photos are included for an additional $125.00.
Other current programs
- Institute research is focused on water quality control in large recirculating land-based systems and sustainable aquaculture technologies for both marine and freshwater fishes. In 2009, we worked in collaboration with Frederick Goetz, Ph.D. of the Great Lakes WATER Institute in establishing broodstock for a new Tambaqui (Black Pacu – Colossoma macropomum) breeding program.
- Our 2008 William F. Noli award-winning mentoring program at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) is now helping to teach Central California high school students the necessary techniques to raise corals and even salmon in classroom aquariums. Through hands-on experience, the students learn about the fragility of our planet’s most precious aquatic resources.
- Aquarius Aquarium Institute’s Aquatic Life Presentations give our Charter Members, students and the general public opportunities to meet guest biologists, aquarium experts, SCUBA divers and underwater photographers who are well-recognized in their respective fields.
- Aquarius Aquarium Institute is home to and primary sponsor of The Breeder’s Registry, which is working to take the pressure off wild ecosystems by collecting and freely disseminating vital technical information about aquarium propagation of imperiled marine fish and corals. With the help of a worldwide network of professional and amateur aquarists, we are documenting the aquarium reproduction of many of the familiar species that have become recognized as staples in the marine aquarium industry.
- The Institute has also been a local sponsor of the daily broadcast of Our Ocean World, a nationally-syndicated radio feature that brings listeners news and information about issues related to the ocean.
To become involved in the Aquarius Aquarium, to make a donation or to attend the many events and educational opportunities, contact Tom and Aletha Lang at 559/490-FISH (3474) or go to Aquarius Aquarium Institute on the web.
CenterStage of the Clovis Community Theatre is presenting Hello, Dolly! featuring veteran Fresno theatre icon, Clytee Ramsey. Just days before the opening performance, the woman who was playing the role of Dolly Gallagher-Levi had to drop out, and Clytee, who has played the role several times but who now lives in Cayucos, stepped in.
