Aquarium Teaches Sustainability And Conservation

South Carolina Aquarium Focuses on Inclusion and Education For All

By Charlotte Hansen

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With schools letting out for summer vacation all over the United States, tourist sites everywhere are getting ready for end-of-the-year field trips. And the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston is no exception as their education and public relations teams get ready for an amazing summer. 

 

Meghan Galipeau and Ashley Dolnack are also two of the most important figures here at the museum, in charge of making sure that the conservation message is spread not only to children but also adults. From little children aged younger than 3 years old to teenagers just beginning their college careers, Galipeau says that no one is too young to learn about animals, something she teaches to her children.

 

“I have two young children, so when I bring them here, there's a lot of different things in it,” said Galipeau, the Volunteer and Teams Program Manager.  “There's a lot of especially kid-friendly things, like our Touch Tank and the Shallows exhibit where they can really get hands on with the animals and that adds a whole new element of learning and experience.” 

 

Opening in 2000, the South Carolina Aquarium focuses their attention on teaching conservation to everyone of all ages and emphasizing that diversity is an important part of learning. With over 5,000 animals, including sea turtles and one bald eagle named Liberty, animal care is of the utmost importance.

 

Partnering with several other aquariums, the staff here at the South Carolina aquarium focus on their sea turtle conservation program as one of the primary highlights. Like Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut’s love for beluga whales, South Carolina Aquarium’s love is for the sea turtle and spreading that message all over the world. 

 

By the time Dolnack first started working at the Aquarium in August 2021, COVID had been around for almost 2 years. Not wanting to deprive children or their families of an aquarium experience, the Aquarium went digital during the temporary closure in 2020 and started doing educational videos on YouTube. Soon, it grew to have a massive following on social media with over 63,000 likes on Facebook and 603 subscribers on YouTube. 

 

“Now that COVID is somewhat behind us, I still say somewhat, we are still offering all of those virtual programs in some capacity,” said Dolnack, the Public Relations Coordinator. “It's almost like we kind of permanently expanded our reach, we pivoted but then we kept that pivot, and we're working [in] both directions, which I enjoy.”

 

Along with the virtual “pivot”, the staff has also been hard at work to make the Aquarium more accessible to everyone, regardless of who they are or what disability they might have. Working alongside the City of Charleston, the Aquarium is participating in helping make Charleston more inclusive for all travelers. 

 

Quiet zones or headphone-only zones are available throughout the Aquarium to allow children and adults with sensory sensitivity disorders a chance to have some peace and quiet. The Aquarium also has sensory bags ready to go, just in case, filled with fidget toys, headphones and communication cards.

 

But no matter where someone is visiting from or what disability they have, the South Carolina Aquarium is open to everyone and anyone. No one is left out of being taught that important environmental lesson.  

 

“No matter where you're visiting from, you can still have a positive impact on the environment,” said Galipeau. “We see a lot of the negative impacts. And it's easy to focus on that and feel kind of discouraged, and also kind of think, “I don't live here, this has nothing to do with me.” But hopefully, it's powerful enough to see that it's a really cool thing to have a positive impact on.”