Florida Aquarium

Florida Aquarium
Exterior of the Florida Aquarium
27°56′39″N 82°26′42″W / 27.94417°N 82.44500°W / 27.94417; -82.44500
Date opened	March 31, 1995
Location	Tampa, Florida, United States
Floor space	250,000 sq ft (23,000 m2)
Volume of largest tank	500,000 US gallons (1,900,000 L; 420,000 imp gal)
Annual visitors	1+ million[1]
Memberships	AZA[2]
Website	www.flaquarium.org

The Florida Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, publicly operated institution located in downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It is a large scale, 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m²) aquarium and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This means they are a leader in conservation and education, supporting programs for wildlife and having a strong educational component in the forms of summer camps, school trips, etc. The facility is home to more than 7,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and all over the world. The facility is located in the Channel District of Downtown Tampa. The Florida Aquarium opened in March 1995 as a privately funded entity and became a public-private partnership when the city of Tampa assumed responsibility for its debt in 1999. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the Florida Aquarium on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.^[3]

On May 8, 2017, it was announced that the aquarium hired Roger Germann as its new president and CEO. Germann came from the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, where he was executive vice president for 16 years, and also served on the advisory board of the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.^[4]