THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 16, 1994 TAG: 9409160532
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROANOKE ISLAND LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Eight-foot-long sharks soon may be swimming through the courtyard. Trees could be growing inside the learning lab. More than 600 additional fish could be living in glass houses.
And by 1998, the North Carolina Aquarium near Manteo could expand by more than 33 percent.
Plans also include dozens of new exhibits, interactive educational displays and at least seven more large tanks for the state-owned facility.
``This will be a giant step for us,'' Aquarium Director Rhett White said from his Outer Banks office Thursday. ``We'll be able to offer the public far more recreational, educational and entertaining opportunities. And we will finally be operating on a scale of many of this country's larger aquariums.''
Last spring, White had hoped that the General Assembly would appropriate about $5 million for expanding and upgrading the aquarium. But when plans for the renovations came back from the architect's office, White and other aquarium employees realized that the proposed additions would not be enough to accommodate the 350,000 annual visitors - much less any traffic increase.
So everyone went back to the drawing board.
Now, aquarium employees are hoping to get $10 million from the state legislature.
N.C. Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, said that is a reasonable request.
``We're well satisfied with what they are proposing for the Roanoke Island aquarium,'' Basnight said Thursday afternoon from his car phone. ``It's so crowded in there now on some rainy days. There's just not enough space.
``We'll have billions of dollars of requests to review in February,'' Basnight said of his fellow state legislators. ``But this one is a legitimate project which should be carefully reviewed. They've already proven their ability to attract the public in droves. They've shown they can educate as well as entertain.
``This request will stand on its own merit, competitively, against the other requests,'' said the senator, who refused to predict the aquarium's chances of actually receiving the $10 million appropriation. ``I'm confident the governor will include the aquarium's request in his budget package.''
Besides enlarging and improving Roanoke Island's aquarium, Basnight said he hopes the General Assembly will give all three of the state's aquariums $10 million each. Facilities at Pine Knoll Shores and Fort Fisher also are expected to be greatly expanded. But work would begin on the Outer Banks building first, White said, because it has fewer structural problems.
``If we get the money, they want to start bidding this project by January, 1996. We'll probably have to close down, then, for a year or more,'' White said of the 18-year-old aquarium. ``But we'll find a storefront somewhere so we can still have a presence. We'll keep organizing educational activities and have several small tanks, at least.''
State money will fund most of the project. Admission fees - which began being charged this summer - and private contributions will augment the budget. The North Carolina Aquarium Society also is trying to raise money through private business and individual contributions, White said.
Blueprints for the aquarium's expansion were drawn with spring budget figures in mind. If the General Assembly appropriates only $5 million for the Roanoke Island facility, White said the state still would be able to:
buy a 120,000-gallon tank for large shark and other sea creatures
purchase a new 3,000-gallon saltwater tank
enclose the 40- by 90-foot courtyard
add a second story above the courtyard
move the wetland/alligator exhibit indoors
add at least 5,000 square feet to the 35,000-square-foot facility
expand the lobby, ticket-sale and entrance area
include a 4-minute, multimedia introduction to the aquarium
add a second, smaller theater beside the meeting room
add at least 10 full-time employees at the aquarium
``Right now, we have a couple hundred specimens here and about 60 species,'' White said as a trigger fish flitted behind his head. ``If we get the appropriation - even if it's only $5 million - we'll probably end up with 1,000 to 1,200 specimens. And we'll double the number of species.''
If the aquarium receives the hoped-for $10 million, the Roanoke Island facility would be able to include all of the above improvements plus:
build a gift shop almost five times larger than the current one
add a snack vending area, restaurant or other food service offering
build a 900-square-foot area for changing exhibits
enlarge the freshwater habitat area
buy two or three additional large tanks
``We're assuming, right now, that we'll get the $10 million. We're shooting for that in all our plans,'' White said. ``The concept is to have a well-ordered route through the aquarium which would draw visitors from a freshwater, river-type area of exhibits, to brackish sound-like environments, to the ocean and salt water displays.
``The large tank, inside the enclosed courtyard, will be 10 times larger than any we've got now. It's 30- by 40-feet and 14-feet deep. It'll have a replica of a shipwreck or something sunk on the bottom. We'll need volunteer divers 'round the clock just to clean it,'' said White. ``The biggest shark we have now is about 4 feet. We'll get six- to eight-footers in the new one - at least.
``We're all very optimistic that we'll be able to proceed with these plans.'' ILLUSTRATION: Aquarium has big plans for future
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
An architect's cross-section, above, illustrates the expansion plan
for the North Carolina Aquarium near Manteo. The aquarium has asked
for $10 million from the General Assembly to fund the project, which
would include a 120,000-gallon tank, below, for large sharks and
other sea creatures.
AQUARIUM HOURS
The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island is open Mondays
through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.
Admission is $3 for adults; $2 for people age 62 or older and
military personnel; $1 for children ages 6-17; free for anyone age 5
or younger. For more information, or to donate money for the
expansion project, call the aquarium at (919) 473-3494.
by CNB