Progress Energy Foundation Donates $50,000 to Sea Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium

By Emily Stehle

St. Petersburg, FL - Officials of Secrets of the Sea Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium announced it is the recipient of a $50,000 grant from the Progress Energy Foundation that will support an interactive exhibit.

The grant is among the first that have been awarded to The Pier Aquarium’s new visitor attraction that is scheduled to open at John’s Pass Village by the end of the year.

“We are thrilled to have Progress Energy on board as one of our founding Corporate Partners in the new Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium in John’s Pass Village,” said E. Howard Rutherford, president and CEO. “The ‘Energizing Research Mystery Station’ will demonstrate the impactful collaboration between Progress Energy and Secrets of the Sea.”

The Secrets of the Sea experience is designed around a series of “Mystery Stations,” interactive experiences in which visitors explore scientific mysteries regarding the ocean and how scientists or “sea sleuths” here in Tampa Bay work to understand those mysteries.

Progress Energy’s grant supports the “Energizing Research” Mystery Station, an interactive exhibit that allows the visitor to decide which future mysteries they would like see solved. Visitors will be presented with three proposed and competing graduate student research projects and can “vote” for their favorite project by placing a dollar in the designated box. A winner will be declared every six months. Visitors can opt to be kept up to date on the progress and results of their vote.

“Progress Energy is pleased to award this grant to the Secrets of the Sea Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium,” said Melissa Seixas, Community Relations Manager for Progress Energy Florida. “It is our responsibility to be good stewards of the natural resources entrusted to our care while providing affordable and reliable power to our customers. The Center will be a hub of both environmental and educational information for local communities, visitors and important partnerships like the Ocean Team that now call the Tampa Bay area home.”

Seixas presented the $50,000 grant a recent meeting of the Capital Campaign Committee.

About the Secrets of the Sea Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium

This new project of The Pier Aquarium is a 12,500 sq. ft. marine science center on two levels of the John’s Pass Village shopping complex in Madeira Beach. The site is adjacent to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and Hooters restaurants.

The state-of-the-art marine attraction and interaction visitor experience is designed to make marine science accessible and understandable to people who benefit from it every day, often without even knowing it. Much of the technology that will be featured at Secrets of the Sea has been or is being developed by the St. Petersburg Ocean Team, a consortium of 14 marine science-related groups including national, state, regional and local governmental agencies, environmental organizations, R&D businesses, educational institutions and The Pier Aquarium.

Projected Community Benefits

Economic impact: 250,000 visitors to the Tampa Bay area generating $8 million into the local economy
Education impact: reaching more than 40,000 students from six counties
Tourism impact: anchoring one of Tampa Bay’s top attractions and expanding the visitation product of Pinellas County
Scientific Impact: expanding scientific, corporate and educational partnerships while creating a new generation of environmental stewards 

About the Progress Energy Foundation

Through its registered 501(c)3 Foundation, Progress Energy invests in a wide variety of local organizations and initiatives to add to the overall quality of life in the areas it serves. Grants focus on energy education, environmental stewardship, economic vitality and workforce development. In 2011, the Progress Energy Foundation invested nearly $10 million in the community it serves. The Progress Energy Foundation is funded each year by the company’s board of directors from shareholder funds, and is not in any way related to a customer expense.

Photo
All smiles, from left, E. Howard Rutherford, president/CEO, Secrets of the Sea Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium, Board President Mark Luther, Progress Energy Community Relations Manager Melissa Seixas and Board Vice Chair Susan Wallace with the “big” check.  Photo by Rob Moorman, Moorman Photographics

To view Pier Aquarium's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor News, go to:  http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-131-Pier_Aquarium