The Georgia Aquarium will break ground this summer on a $110 million dolphin exhibit that will open in the Winter of 2010. The expansion will add 84,000 square feet to the facility (about the size of two football fields), including a 1.3 million gallon exhibit to accommodate bottlenose dolphins.

Located on the west side of the present building near the Luckie Street parking deck entrance, the building will encompass areas that will include dolphin encounters, viewing windows and dolphin shows. The bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncates) that will initially inhabit the Aquarium's new building will come from Marineland's Dolphin Conservation Center.

Georgia Aquarium Announces Support of Marine Animal Conservation Field Station

Since opening, Georgia Aquarium has conducted research and conservation programs with marine animals including whale sharks, beluga whales, coral reefs and sea turtles. With the announcement that dolphins are coming to Atlanta, the Aquarium also announced that this same dedication to research and conservation will be applied to dolphins.

Marineland and government officials expressed an urgent need for a research facility that can study marine animals and react to those that get stranded along the coast. Manatees, whales and dolphins are among the marine animals that have been stranded on those shores either from illness or as a result of injury or age.

Georgia Aquarium is making a $1.5 million contribution for a new marine animal rescue, care and research facility near Marineland outside St. Augustine, Florida. The contribution will be used toward initial capital expenditures in the construction of the marine animal conservation field station. The new facility is expected to open in 2009 and will include veterinary facilities, quarantine pools for rehabilitating rescued animals and housing for researchers and volunteers. The Aquarium will then continue to support the facility annually.

The Georgia Aquarium website: www.georgiaaquarium.org