Marine Education Center and Aquarium offers wonders, opportunities

The University of Georgia Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Skidaway Island, a barrier island just outside Savannah, offers visitors sweeping views of the marsh and a sense of wild seclusion. Since opening to the public in 1971 as Georgia’s first saltwater aquarium, the center has introduced generations to the wonders of the coast, combining hands-on education, immersive fieldwork, and engaging exhibits to spark curiosity and stewardship:

The aquarium draws scientists from across Georgia who use its resources to study marine life and ecosystems. Graduate students, faculty, and partner researchers turn the surrounding waters and lab spaces into sites for discovery, often working alongside volunteers who help extend the reach of the scientists’ work.

For example, Mallory Mintz, a doctoral candidate in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Marine Sciences, collaborates with the aquarium’s phytoplankton monitoring volunteers, part of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration network, to track blooms of Akashiwo sanguinea, a red tide species linked to harmful algae blooms. The volunteer program running at the aquarium spans more than 20 years and provides a rare long-term dataset while also giving the public a chance to contribute directly to coastal science.

Another focus at the aquarium is communicating science to the public, including research on living shorelines. These natural barriers, built with recycled oyster shells and native plants, protect shorelines from erosion. Unlike seawalls or bulkheads, living shorelines stabilize banks while creating oyster reefs, improving water quality, and providing critical habitat for coastal wildlife.

UGA researchers are part of the Georgia Living Shoreline Workgroup, a coalition of scientists, managers, and conservationists testing these nature-based solutions across the coast. The aquarium’s newest exhibit, a 3D interactive diorama, brings living shorelines to life while sharing information about their benefits to coastal communities.  

Continue reading this recent feature from Georgia Magazine.

Image: Photo of visitors and faculty interacting directly with native marine species. courtesy UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium.