Birch Aquarium
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
|
|
| Date opened | 1903 |
|---|---|
| Location | Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA |
| Coordinates | 32°52′04″N 117°14′59″W / 32.8678°N 117.2496°WCoordinates: 32°52′04″N 117°14′59″W / 32.8678°N 117.2496°W |
| Number of animals | 3,000+ |
| Number of species | 380 |
| Volume of largest tank | 70,000 U.S. gal (260,000 l) |
| Annual visitors | 435,000+ |
| Memberships | AZA |
| Website | aquarium |
Birch Aquarium at Scripps (sometimes referred to as Scripps Aquarium or Birch Aquarium) is the public outreach center for Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Birch Aquarium at Scripps has an annual attendance of more than 435,000, including more than 40,000 school children, and features more than 3,000 animals representing 380 species. The hilltop site provides spectacular views of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus and the Pacific Ocean.
To provide ocean science education, interpret Scripps Institution of Oceanography research, and promote ocean conservation.
The aquarium was established in 1903 after the Marine Biological Association of San Diego was created to conduct marine research in the local waters of the Pacific Ocean. (Its name was later changed to Scripps Institution of Oceanography to honor supporters Ellen Browning Scripps and E.W. Scripps, part of the Scripps family of newspaper pioneers.) The founders built and maintained a small public aquarium and museum to communicate their discoveries to the world.
The researchers outgrew their modest laboratory in the boathouse of the Hotel del Coronado and moved to a small laboratory at La Jolla Cove in 1905. Several years later, the association purchased 174 acres (70 ha) at La Jolla Shores for $1,000 at a public auction from the city of San Diego. The first permanent building at the new site was constructed in 1910. Today the Old Scripps Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1915, the first building devoted solely to an aquarium was built on the Scripps campus. The small, wooden structure contained 19 tanks ranging in size from 96 to 228 U.S. gallons (360 to 860 l). The oceanographic museum was located in a nearby building. The institution's name changed to Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1925 to recognize the growing faculty's widened range of studies.
...
Wikipedia