Welcome, St. Pete Pier

Photo/Steven Le

There is much to enjoy – and lots of space to spread out – along the 26 acres that make up the Pier District. From dining and drinking establishments with spectacular views, to a massive splashpad and play area for children, to a fishing area, Adirondack chairs and tilted lawn for relaxing, the new pier is ready to be discovered and experienced. Don’t worry, trams are available to transport visitors from end to end if they don’t feel like walking.

PHOTO/CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG

A highlight of the pier experience can be seen from downtown at night, a world-class public art installation. As dusk settles, the massive aerial sculpture Bending Arc slowly comes to life in a neon pink pattern, a striking outline hovering above the bay like a fl oating spaceship. Grab a seat or lie beneath and let it carry you away.

Welcome, St. Pete Pier. You’ve been a long time coming.

Photo/Steven Le

Discover What Lurks Beneath at Discovery Center

With the opening of the new St. Pete Pier, comes the opening of the new Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center. Located about mid-way along the length of the pier, the 2,000-square-foot exhibit space off ers a look beneath the pier into the wonders of the Tampa Bay marine ecosystem. Visitors to the pier can come inside (admission is $5 adults, $3 children 4-12) to check out an aquarium and touch tank, learn about the critters and plants that make up the estuary habitat, and watch a video that shows the challenges and work in the recovery of Tampa Bay.

Trained volunteer docents are on-hand to shed light on everything from horseshoe crabs and seahorses to the advantages of a living shoreline, the varieties of seagrass, and all kinds of fun facts about Tampa Bay.

The centerpiece is the estuary habitat aquarium, an 1,800-gallon saltwater tank that is home to striped burrfish, hogfish, filefish, rays and others that live beneath and around the mangroves. Another centerpiece is a giant wave sculpture made of marine debris – plastic water bottles and fi shing line, to be concise – and a display that educates on the damage done by plastic pollution.

Of course, you can’t deny the existence of the pervasive and destructive lionfi sh in Tampa Bay. A tank featuring the beautiful yet bad non-native species is also on display. Adjacent to the exhibit gallery, a state-of-the-art classroom will be available for school field trips and programs for students, something that Tampa Bay Watch has excelled in over the years.

Outdoors next to the building, a “wet classroom” will present showand-tell demonstrations and programs in an amphitheater-style observation deck. And in the works, a new “floating classroom” – a certified catamaran eco-vessel – will be launched, adding water tours from the Discovery Center dock.

“This is the only marine program in downtown St. Pete,” says executive director Dwayne Virgint. “Tampa Bay Watch has made protection, restoration and education our mission, and our goal with the Discovery Center is to show children and adults how you can become stewards of the environment and really make a diff erence.”