MARINE RESEARCH
says Paul. “They’ve been here for over 30 years. They make
this place function. They know where, when and how to collect
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different plants and animals.”
Before Rice retired, she was instrumental in starting a
Smithsonian aquarium. “The community here always wanted
an aquarium,” says Rice. “When we moved to Seaway Drive,
people expected exhibits. I felt obligated to have something
for the public.” Rice learned that the Smithsonian in D.C.
was going to close a coral reef aquarium and thought that the
Treasure Coast would be the perfect home for it. She collaborated
with the St. Lucie County Commission, which agreed to
build a facility to house the exhibit if the Smithsonian would
agree to maintain it.
Bill Hoffman, who began his career with the Smithsonian
in 1989, oversaw the coral reef exhibit in Washington and
agreed to follow the exhibit to Fort Pierce. “The building
wasn’t ready yet, so we had to keep the live rock in tanks at
various locations,” says Rice. “Bill kept some at his new home
in Fort Pierce, and we kept some in tanks at IRSC’s Coast
Guard building and at FPL’s nuclear power plant.” Finally, in
2001, the Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit opened on
Seaway Drive adjacent to the Indian River Lagoon.
“Whoa! Look at the fish, Mommy,” children shout as they
first enter the aquarium. “We are the only aquarium with
an entire focus on living marine ecosystems,” says Hoffman.
“We model local marine food webs and their habitats.”
Indeed, visitors can get an up-close look at the animals every
day, especially during the aquarium’s Feeding Frenzy and
Snack Time tours when the animals are fed.
“Unlike large aquariums that are big and bold, I like to
focus on the sea/see food side of things,” says Hoffman. >>
Dr. Mary E. Rice, who was curator for the Department of Invertebrate
Zoology for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., came to Fort
Pierce as a field scientist to study animals in the Indian River Lagoon.
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