Mote Marine Laboratory

by Rick Brown

Any time you might be considering a visit to Florida I would highly recommend the Sarasota area. Of course there are many beautiful beaches. But Sarasota is so much more than that. The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens are nothing short of breathtaking. http://www.selby.org/ The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art has a very impressive collection of European art, paintings in particular. http://www.ringling.org/ The mansion and its gardens are well worth a look as well.

The Mote Marine Laboratory is also a must see. http://www.mote.org/ Of course, part of it is an aquarium. This one, while very pleasant, certainly is not as dynamic as say, Monterey, California or even Baltimore, Maryland. And their manatee exhibit is most certainly dwarfed by the fine rescue facility at the Columbus, Ohio Zoo. But the research facility is what makes Mote worth the price of admission. I particularly enjoy the Seahorse Conservation Lab. But that is just one small piece of the aquatic puzzle. Mote’s education programs are wonderful and I recommend thoroughly reading their website for demonstrations, etc. Plan ahead of time what to see according to their schedule. I serendipitously witnessed penguins being fed at a special exhibit called Penguin Island. But I was lucky. I literally just walked into it. So make your plans before going. And I hope you have more luck photographing the seahorses than I did! Those little guys are thoroughbreds!!

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