Business directory · Aquariums
Mote Marine Laboratory's new public aquarium near University Town Center, opened October 2025. Replaces the former City Island aquarium with large ocean habitats, sharks, sea turtles, manatees and visible working science labs.
Claim this listing $8 passportMote SEA is the public face of Mote Marine Laboratory, a long-running independent marine research institution. It opened in October 2025 in the University Town Center area east of I-75, replacing the old Mote Aquarium on City Island, which no longer has public hours (the Ken Thompson Parkway campus is now listed as a lab closed to the public). The new building pairs large habitats for sharks, sea turtles, manatees, rays and reef fish with glass-walled labs and education spaces where visitors can watch Mote scientists and students at work. Mote also operates smaller coral exhibits and nursery tours in the Florida Keys.
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Sources (editors): OFFICIAL ; https://mote.org/visit ; https://mote.org/locations/ ; FLAG: County: 34243 ZIP spans Sarasota/Manatee line; facility reported near Nathan Benderson Park (Sarasota County) - verify. Old City Island aquarium at 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy listed as Closed to Public. Opening date Oct 8, 2025 from search results (Mote news), not re-fetched. Parking not stated on fetched pages. ; pin: NONE (no address match; add by hand)