Giving To & Through Our Mission

OUR ANIMALS & EXHIBITS

We strive to inspire our guests through our exhibits and beautiful habitats giving people opportunities to come face-to-face with hundreds of species from around the globe, animals that most would not otherwise have the chance to experience. Every guest who comes through the doors of the Aquarium is given the opportunity to be inspired, awed, to learn, and to take action. The experience is so much more than an entertaining visit.

OUR STRANDING RESPONSE PROGRAM

The Virginia Aquarium is dedicated to the difficult work of conservation research and one of our groups giving back through this work is our nationally recognized Stranding Response Team. Members of this team carry out the physically and emotionally taxing work of responding to sea turtles and marine mammals that have come ashore, often injured or sick. They respond at all hours of the day in hopes of providing treatment when possible and releasing animals when appropriate. In addition to responding to injured or stranded animals, the Stranding Response Team also monitors sea turtle nests along the expansive Atlantic shoreline. They keep extensive research records on all the work they do, improving the ways in which sea turtle and marine mammal conservation is approached and giving fellow conservationists invaluable information.

OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The Virginia Aquarium hopes to inspire learners of all ages and therefore gives back through education and educational programs. Be it in the hands-on interactive exhibits, the onsite and outreach school programs, or the ever-growing opportunities to learn virtually, our education team works to create fun and educational programs that we hope will inspire future generations of conservationists as well as inspire each of us to make deliberate changes in our personal lives to help preserve the marine environment.

So, you can see that our mission is steady, and our efforts are focused. In all we do at the Virginia Aquarium, onsite, in the community, on the shores, out in the ocean, or with other conservation groups here and abroad, our work is our gift and serves to conserve beautiful marine life and habitats. However, this vital work is only possible with consistent support from others.

In this season of giving as we approach Giving Tuesday on November 30, we invite you to consider giving a financial gift to the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Foundation, the non-profit 501(c) that provides support to all of the programs and work mentioned above. Your gift, regardless of how much, is so greatly appreciated. From all of us, with fins and without, thank you in advance for your support and we hope to SEA you soon at the Aquarium.