Florida Aquarium
Exterior of the Florida Aquarium
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| Date opened | March 1995 |
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| Location | Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Coordinates | 27°56′39″N 82°26′42″W / 27.94417°N 82.44500°WCoordinates: 27°56′39″N 82°26′42″W / 27.94417°N 82.44500°W |
| Floor space | 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m2) |
| Memberships | AZA |
| Website | www |
The Florida Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, publicly operated institution located in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is a large scale, 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) aquarium and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This means they are a leader in conservation and education, supporting programs for wildlife and having a strong educational component in the forms of summer camps, school trips, etc. The facility is home to more than 20,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and all over the world. The facility is located in the Channel District of Downtown Tampa. The Florida Aquarium opened in March 1995 as a privately funded entity, and became a public-private partnership when the city of Tampa assumed responsibility for its debt in 1999. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the Florida Aquarium on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.
The Florida Aquarium was largely constructed using borrowed money amid inflated projections that high attendance and ticket sales would pay off the incurred debt. However, after the aquarium opened in March 1995, the number of visitors and tourists fell well below expectations.
The aquarium fell into financial debt. In response to the crisis, the city of Tampa took over The Florida Aquarium's mortgage and debt in 1999. Managers at the institution were forced to lay off or demote roughly one-third of the aquarium's total staff.
Though it struggled in its early years, The Florida Aquarium reinvented itself and made entertainment a key aspect of its mission, incorporating fun and exciting ways to instill strong messages about the importance of Florida's natural resources and educating 100,000 school children each year.
Jeff Swanagan became CEO of the Florida Aquarium in 1998 and is credited with turning around the troubled institution. Swanagan loosened the aquarium's previous emphasis on science and Florida wildlife. He introduced several new exhibits featuring flora and fauna from other regions of the world to attract new and returning visitors to the aquarium. New exhibitions overseen by Swanagan included the "Dragons Down Under", which features leafy sea dragons that are native to the waters off Australia; an albino alligator; and an exhibit featuring snakes and bats called "Frights of the Forest". A sting ray was even nicknamed "Roseanne Barb" by a marketing department in an attempt to attract attention to the aquarium.
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