Contact: Emily Stehle, APR
(727) 803-9799, ext. 207
cell (727) 688-7993
estehle@pieraquarium.org
www.pieraquarium.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUG. 20 SCICAFÉ FEATURES CORALS ON ACID REEF "WALKING TOUR"
The Pier Aquarium at Florida Craftsmen Gallery
St. Petersburg, FL (Aug. 10, 2012) - The Aug. 20 SciCafé, Coral Reef Part 2, brings The Pier Aquarium to the Hyperbolic Crocheted Coral Reef exhibit at Florida Craftsmen Gallery.
Guest speakers Pam Hallock Muller, Ph.D., professor of Biogeological Oceanography, University of South Florida College of Marine Science and Pier Aquarium Curator of Exhibits Butch Ringelspaugh will walk visitors through the "reef" as they discuss the plight of the world's coral reefs.
Called "the rainforests of the sea" because of the diversity found in their created habitats, coral reefs are severely threatened with scientists estimating that 19% of them have been lost and another 35% will be lost over the next 20-40 years.
The discussion, moderated by the Aquarium's CEO/President E. Howard Rutherford will include talk about the upcoming Corals on Acid exhibit that will be featured at Secrets of the Sea Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium. Corals on Acid will be an interactive marine science experiment that will illustrate the effects of increased temperatures and acidity of the ocean on a health, living coral environment and help visitors understand their impacts on the planet.
What: SciCafe Coral Reef Part 2: Corals on Acid Reef "Walking Tour"When: 5:30-7pm Monday, Aug. 20, 2012Where: Florida Craftsmen Gallery, 501 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
Free, but RSVP requested: www.pieraquarium.org/event/coralsonacid
This will be a "standing" event. Info: estehle@pieraquarium.org
To make a donation to support SciCafé programs, please click here: www.pieraquarium.org/scicafesupport.
ABOUT THE SCIENCE CAFÉ
The science café is an international program that piques curiosity and brings the discussion of science into the mainstream. The Pier Aquarium endorsed the concept in 2009 during The Year of Science as we pride itself on providing community marine education. Our mission "to enhance the public’s understanding of the value and fragility of the local and global marine environment through research, education and personal experiences” speaks to the important role we play in translating science information to the community.
As home to the marine science cluster of more than 1,600 working scientists and researchers, it was time for a science café in St. Petersburg.
The science café movement is growing rapidly in pubs, coffeehouses and other casual public venues throughout the world. No one organization "controls” or claims credit for creating the Science Café concept in the United States but many science cafés were inspired by Café Scientifique, based in the United Kingdom.
Sciencecafes.org, created in 2006 by NOVA scienceNOW in association with Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, brings together all science café resources into one single U.S. Web site.
ABOUT THE PIER AQUARIUM
Established in 1988, The Pier Aquarium is a private, non-profit aquarium and marine education center located in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida at The Pier. It showcases 17 tanks of live fish and other marine life and educational exhibits on the first and second floors and an outdoor marine laboratory and teaching unit, the Roy G. Harrell, Jr. Education Station, located on the Pier approach.
Its mission is to enhance the public’s understanding of the value and fragility of the local and global marine environment through research, education and personal experiences.
The Pier Aquarium serves as the "public face” for the St. Petersburg Ocean Team’s research, innovation and technology. The Ocean Team is a consortium of 14 marine science and oceanographic institutions and environmental research agencies in the Southeast and one of the top such industry clusters in the nation.
More than 65,000 visitors, including 15,000 who participate in our scheduled educational programs, come to The Pier Aquarium annually to attend our Saturday Book Nook by the Bay family program, an annual free marine discovery day and Summer Marine Adventures summer camp. Volunteers contribute more than 3,000 hours each year.
The Pier Aquarium has announced a move to John’s Pass Village, Madeira Beach, Florida and expansion to a 13,000 sq. ft. facility called the Secret of the Seas Marine Discovery Center and Aquarium. The opening is scheduled for Spring 2013.
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