South Carolina Aquarium

The South Carolina Aquarium, located in Charleston, South Carolina, opened in May of 2000 on the historic Charleston Harbor.

The South Carolina Aquarium has been open since May of 2000 and is found on the Charleston Harbor. More than 10,000 animals call the Charleston Aquarium home, including pythons, alligators, hawks and more.

The Charleston SC Aquarium is open from 9am until 6pm Monday through Friday and from noon until 6pm on Sundays between April and August. The rest of the year the South Carolina Museum closes an hour earlier, at 5pm.

The Charleston Aquarium covers more than 90,000 square feet and is where guests can see innumerable examples of local and more exotic sea life. The Charleston SC Aquarium features the Great Ocean Tank Exhibition, which is a two-story, 385,000 gallon tank holding a collection of more than 800 sharks, sting rays, sea turtles and other creatures.

Although this is one of the most popular attractions at the South Carolina Aquarium, it is only one of the 60 exhibits featured here. All 60 of the exhibits are organized into 5 groups meant to represent the different regions of the Appalachian Watershed, which include the Coastal Plain, the Mountains, the Piedmont, the Coast and the Ocean.

While it is against South Carolina law to keep whales and dolphins in captivity, the South Carolina Aquarium’s Riverside Terrace allows visitors to view dolphins in the Charleston Harbor, home to a large population of dolphins. While there is no interaction, this view offers the chance to see dolphins in their natural habitat. After scoping out the dolphins, check out the Secrets of the Amazon, which replicates the experience of being in an Amazonian rainforest.

A ticket to the Charleston SC Aquarium will grant guests access to all of the aquarium’s exhibits, so visitors will not need to buy special tickets for any sections of the aquarium. Ticket prices are around $15 for adults, $13 for students (with ID) and senior citizens and $8 for children ages 3-12.

Children age 2 and under can enter the aquarium for free. Tickets can be purchased only at the ticket office of the aquarium itself. Summer is by far the aquarium’s busiest season, so try to get there early in the morning if you want to avoid crowds. Visiting on a weekday is also a good way to avoid crowds during the summer.
 
The largest exhibit in the Aquarium is The Great Ocean Tank, which extends from the first to the third floor of the Aquarium; it holds over 385,000 gallons of water and contains over 300 animals. The Aquarium also features a Discovery Lab, where patrons are able to touch horseshoe crabs, starfish, and other marine animals.

The layout of the two-story aquarium was designed to educate visitors about plant and animal life from the South Carolina mountains to the coastal plain. More than 60 exhibits focus on five major regions: Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain, Coast, and Ocean.

In addition to extensive education efforts in support of a healthy Loggerhead Sea Turtle habitat, the S.C. Aquarium utilizes its facilities to operate a Sea Turtle Hospital. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources transports injured or stranded sea turtles to the hospital, after which aquarium staff and volunteers nurture the animal back to health. A staff veterinarian can perform surgery, administer x-rays, IVs, and even provide blood transfusions to turtles that are severely anemic.

Rehabilitated turtles are brought to a local beach and allowed to return to the ocean. The average turnaround time for an injured turtle is 7-8 months.

The aquarium has more than 80 paid staff, with a complement of more than 300 volunteers. Present staffing levels are significantly lower than in the first year of operations, mostly due to annual revenue falling far short of original projections. Therefore, the volunteer program has become a model in the community due to such a heavy reliance on this workforce.

The S.C. Aquarium is a non-profit education and conservation organization, funded by a combination of ticket, concession and souvenir sales, and corporate, government, and private donations.

information provided by: wikipedia.com and http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/south-carolina/south-carolina-aquarium.php