SUMMER
Photos by Brian Skerry/National Geographic
LETTER FROM OUR CEO
CORPORATE PARTNERS
GREETINGS MEMBERS AND FRIENDS As this issue of the STAR goes to press, we are celebrating the one-year anniversary of the opening of Caribbean Journey! These last twelve months have been remarkable, from an incredible summer season last year, to the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey, a massive sea turtle cold stunning event and the premiere of our newest changing exhibition “SHARKS: On Assignment with Brian Skerry.” As I often like to share with our team, there is never a dull moment at your Texas State Aquarium! We are really excited to showcase the talented works of National Geographic photographer and Explorer-at-Large Brian Skerry. His uncanny ability to capture the beauty and grace of one of my favorite groups of fishes will engage you and inspire you to think about the oceans we share, and what we need to do to protect the animals that call the ocean home. Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation Frost Gentry Co. Green Mountain Energy Orion Drilling Company, LLC Stripes ValueBank Texas Voestalpine Texas L.L.C. Allison Flooring America American Bank CC General & Implant Dentistry Devary Durrill Foundation Gowland, Strealy, Morales & Company LNV, Inc. NuStar Energy Occidental Chemical Corporation Pattern Gulf Wind, LLC Republic Services, Inc. Sico, Hoelscher, Harris & Braugh L.L.P Western Steel Co.
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And speaking of protecting animals, I will share with you that we have begun conceptual design work for a new center on our main campus that will house our Wildlife Rescue program. The need to care for injured wildlife in our region and beyond will only increase, and we want to make sure we are fully prepared to respond to any challenge, from environmental accidents to severe weather. If wildlife in the Gulf are impacted, we want to be ready to help. A fully integrated center for animal rescue and care, for research and conservation, and for environmental education -- that is our vision. We have also initiated design and planning work on a major upgrade to our Gulf of Mexico exhibits and our Dolphin Bay program. These projects and programs are all part of our latest strategic plan, developed in 2015, that is guiding our growth over the next five years. You’ll hear more about our plans as they are developed over the coming months. Meantime, enjoy the summer, and I hope to see you here soon at your Texas State Aquarium.
Tom Schmid President and CEO SUMMER 2018
animal spotlight
Sharing Space with Sharks
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ith their reputation as the ocean’s most formidable predators, our guests often wonder why our large sandbar sharks don’t eat or attack the other aquatic species they share an exhibit with. The answer is simple – they just aren’t hungry enough to try! But the way we ensure this is a bit more complex. The key is to ensuring our sharks are well-fed is through target feeding and managing each sharks natural behavior. Each day our sharks are individually fed their meals from poles, ensuring they are fed just enough to stay full and healthy. Since these sharks know they receive a regular but limited diet and prefer to target injured or vulnerable prey, they don’t waste energy trying to pursue our healthy animals. There’s a few other reasons why these sharks don’t regularly feed on their fellow fish. Read on to meet some of our shark’s “roommates” and discover how we ensure they peacefully coexist.
SUMMER 2018
Pilchard (False Herring) Asides from moving much to quickly for our sharks to easily snag, these shiny fish collect into schools which make it difficult for predators to tell them apart. You’ll see the herring quickly scatter as are sharks glide through, but the large predators make no attempt to eat them. Southern Stingray While sandbar sharks can prey on rays in the wild, they have little motivation to chase after the large stingrays in H-E-B Caribbean Sea. The stingray’s barbed tail in addition to its size means the sharks have little motivation to go after it. Crevalle Jack This fish is simply too much of a mouthful for our sharks. Our crevalle jacks are also fast, healthy, and even a little aggressive, making them not worth the trouble of trying to eat. Porcupinefish These “puffer fish” aren’t on the menu for sharks because the predators know they don’t go down easy. These fish are large, toxic, and can inflate and extend their needles, making them seem pretty unappetizing to the docile sandbar shark.
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aquarium news
‘SHARKS: On Assignment with Brian Skerry’ Now on Exhibit
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isitors can now come faceto-face or rather, face-tonose with one of the world’s most feared predators in the new exhibition “SHARKS: On Assignment with Brian Skerry,” which opened Friday, May 25 in the Aquarium’s Caribbean Journey underwater level. SHARKS is organized and traveled by the National Geographic Society.
This exciting new exhibition includes large-scale images and videos highlighting the work of National Geographic Explorer and awardwinning photojournalist Brian Skerry. Skerry has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater exploring the world’s oceans with a camera to show why sharks need to be protected and appreciated as an
integral species within the ecosystem, and his passion, skill and life-long commitment to conservation of the world’s oceans shines through in these stunning photographs. On June 2, photographers of all skills are also invited to learn firsthand on how to improve their camera skills from awardwinning National Geographic photographer and Explorer-atLarge Brian Skerry. Tickets for this exclusive class, which is limited to 40 people, are now available at www.texasstateaquarium.org/ photoworkshop. Discover more about this new traveling exhibit and the upcoming photo workshop at www. texasstateaquarium.org/brianskerry.
Photos by Brian Skerry/National Geographic
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SUMMER 2018
aquarium news
The Deep 4D: Mystery of the Ancient Amulet will run daily for a year, at which time it will be replaced with another kid-friendly 4D film.
“The Deep 4D” dives into the Whataburger 4D Theater A popular family-friendly series is now in 4D here at the Aquarium! Starting May 25, we’re proud to present “The Deep 4D: Mystery of the Ancient Amulet!” This 12-minute fully immersive experience will be adventure big enough for the whole family, and is included at no extracharge with your admission or membership. “The Deep 4D: Mystery of the Ancient Amulet” features an all-new original story line, with exclusive 3D CG animation and stunning special effects to provide an ultimate 4D Experience® including water mist, bubbles, seat vibrations and more! SUMMER 2018
The film follows the adventures of the Nekton family, a brilliant team of underwater explorers who come into possession of a mysterious amulet. On their journey through the depths of the ocean, the Nektons encounter pirates and other mission-threatening obstacles. They must rely on each other and the creatures of the abyss – including a whale and dolphins – to help them discover the unbelievable connection this object has to a nearby island. To learn more and see a preview of The Deep 4D, visit www.texasstateaquarium. org/4D.
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aquarium news
One Year of Caribbean Journey
Our Visit to Dell Children’s Every day hundreds of young guests have the chance to wonder at the sights of the Aquarium in-person, but for children undergoing treatment at hospitals across Texas, it’s not always possible to go the Aquarium. That’s why this past month, we decided to bring part of the Aquarium to them. On April 10, we traveled to Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin with some aquatic road trip buddies from the Aquarium. Our friends at Dell Children’s were given hands-on experiences with sea stars, saw sharks and jellies up-close and even had a live remote encounter with the dolphins at the Aquarium. These young ocean explorers loved their experience and we were honored to be able to bring it to them. We look forward to bringing the Aquarium on the road for other hospital visits in the months to come.
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Caribbean Journey is now a year old! Since this 72,000-square foot exhibit opened on May 13 last year, we’ve: • Welcomed over 570,000 guests • Expanded Xena the two-toed sloth’s habitat to allow her to roam the jungle. • Welcomed red-capped cardinal chicks and other bird species that were born in the Caribbean jungle • Added several aquatic species including a grouper and juvenile sharks. • Introduced Storm, a rehabilitated magnificent frigatebird and Amos, a rescued American white pelican, into Caribbean Journey. Caribbean Journey continues to grow and expand to provide our members and guests a consistently new and exciting experience. Stop by sometime to see what’s changed since your last visit and Discover a Bigger World! SUMMER 2018
aquarium news
A Natural Home Here at the Aquarium, we know our animals’ environments play a crucial role in their health and overall well-being, which is why our staff put considerable research into each exhibit’s design and maintenance in consideration of each animal’s unique needs. Read on to learn about a few of the ways we ensure our animals receive the most rewarding habitats possible.
SUMMER 2018
Seawater Did you know the seawater in our exhibits is pumped in from the Gulf of Mexico? This water is then filtered and treated to provide a healthy but natural source of seawater for our fish and other aquatic species.
Plants Most of the plants and
Coral Most of the coral in our exhibits are replicas to prevent having to collect from the natural habitat, but we also grow live coral right here at the Aquarium and place them in our exhibits. You’ll find live coral in many exhibits and can see them growing in Caribbean Journey’s Coral Propagation nursery.
Sunlight While fluorescent lights provide the resources many species need, many of our other exhibits are illuminated mostly by the sun itself. Caribbean Journey’s jungle skylight and ceiling portals throughout the Aquarium allow the sun to peek through and light up the space, giving animals plenty of vitamins and natural nourishment.
trees you’ll find in the jungle, our alligator exhibit, and many of are other exhibits are not only real, they’re native to the animal’s natural habitat. Each is carefully chosen, planted, and maintained so our animals feel right at home.
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CO N S E R VAT I O N S P OT L I G H T
Wildlife Rescue Expands with a New Look!
CO N S E R VAT I O N S P OT L I G H T
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n May 22, we celebrated the offical new name of our on-site wildlife rehabilitation and rescue center! The Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center will not only continue to rescue, rehabilitate, and release ill and injured wildlife, it will expand its capabilities with renovated facilities and vehicles. At our Open House, we showed off the newest features of the rescue center. Get a sneak peak at some our rescue tools and facilities below: Rescue Boat: With this 24-foot boat, our team can venture offshore to rescue and release wildlife. This boat will be especially useful in reaching cold-stunned sea turtles this winter and for releasing sea turtles like the Kemp’s ridley into its natural habitat.
Rescue Van: This rebranded vehicle will be seen throughout our community since it will serve as both the main “ambulance” for injured wildlife and a transport for releasing animals into their natural habitat.
SUMMER 2018
Surgery Room: This operating center for injured wildlife possesses cutting-edge technology, including an x-ray machine. Rescue staff will perform operations and examine wildlife upon intake here to best prepare a plan for treatment.
Rehab Pools: These renovated pools will house turtles rehabilitating from coldstunning and other injuries and illnesses. Here they can recover to a healthy state while being carefully monitored by rescue staff.
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Make Waves The ocean isn’t just a home for countless aquatic species, its critical to our own existence. Oceans provide food, protect us from storms, and even hold the secrets for life-saving medicines. Sadly, the ocean is rapidly declining in health due largely to plastic pollution. With World Oceans Day this June, learn how plastic on land and sea endangers the ocean, how we’re working to turn the tide, and how you can help.
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PLASTIC POLLUTION
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Every minute, a dump truck worth of plastic is emptied into the sea.
Make your own plastic-free pledge! If that sounds daunting, start with something easy, like using a reusable shopping bag instead of a plastic one, swearing off bottled water, and choosing glass and paper packaging whenever possible. By reducing the demand and use of single-use plastic, you help keep more of it out of the trash and out of the ocean.
Single-use plastic, which is used once and thrown away, is the biggest contributor. These bits of garbage are not only an eyesore, they can destroy habitats like coral reefs, injure or kill marine life, and even damage ocean vessels. Harmful toxins in plastic can also leech into sea water, poisoning animals’ natural habitats.
WHAT WE’RE DOING We’re leading by example to show that a life free of single-use plastic is possible for everyone. We’ve phased out single-use plastic bags, water bottles, plastic straws, and plastic cups from the Aquarium to show that alternative and affordable eco-friendly options are available.
WHAT WE’RE DOING MARINE DEBRIS Trash isn’t just out in the ocean, it’s scattered on coastlines across the world. As plastic finds its way to the ocean, it washes up on shore or is dumped their by careless consumers. Here it can spread to affect life on land, not just ruining a beautiful beach, but destroying the homes of countless wildlife.
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Every year, we pick up literally tons of garbage from local shorelines, including our adopted sites of North Beach and Packery Channel Park. These events not only made our beaches a little bit cleaner, they help the public on the issue of marine debris and show how the can play their part.
WHAT YOU CAN DO Pick up your own trash – and even other people’s trash, to an extent. That means simply make sure you never litter, and recycle as much as you can. When you go to the beach, try bringing along a trash bag and picking up trash that you come across. Others will be inspired to follow your lead!
SUMMER 2018
calendar
26MAY
HEB SPLASH PARK RE-OPENS!
9JUN
WORLD OCEANS DAY Hours of Operation H-E-B Splash Park Summer Hours 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. daily until Labor Day
Our popular Splash Park turns on its jets for summer to provide gallons of fun for our younger guests. From May 26 – September 2 the Splash Park will be open from 10-6 daily.
2JUN
PHOTO WORKSHOP WITH BRIAN SKERRY
Join us as celebrate the ocean and learn how you can help save the sea with games and activities, all included with your admission or membership!
7JUL
VOLUNTEER INFORMATION SESSION Want to volunteer at the Aquarium? Join us at 9 a.m. on July 7 to learn more about how you can help us care for our animals and keep our guests happy! Learn more at www.texasstateaquarium.org/volunteer.
18AUG Learn the art of underwater photography from National Geographic phographer Brian Skerry, whose work is currently on exhibit at the Aquarium. Sign up www.texasstateaquarium. org/photoworkshop
MEMBERS-ONLY KIDS CLUB
Accounting (361) 881-1286 Admissions (361) 881-1230 Donations & Development (361) 881-1340 Education & SeaCamp (361) 881-1204 Event Rentals (361) 881-1244 General Information (361) 881-1200 Gift Shop (361) 881-1232 Group Reservations (361) 653-2602 Naturalist Office (361) 881-1250 Injured Animal (361) 881-1210 Membership (361) 881-1341 Volunteers (361) 881-1381 Wildlife Rescue and Recovery: (361) 881-1210 The Texas State Aquarium is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
SEACAMP BEGINS Our member-exclusive program for kids will explore the unique adaptations of predators with age-appropriate dissections and fun games! If you’re a member, sign up at www.texasstateaquarium.org/kidsclub.
SUMMER 2018
How To Contact Us:
Pepsi Shoreline Grill (361) 881-1239
4JUN
Aquatic adventures await at our annual summer program, where your child can become an explorer, a scientist, and more. Registration open now at www.texasstateaquarium.org/seacamp.
Summer Hours 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday - Saturday 10 a.m. - 6.00 p.m. Sunday Fall Hours 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday
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