1. The South Carolina Aquarium: special challenges
and opportunities with a new Aquarium
for a new millennium
L’Aquarium de la Caroline du Sud : défis et challenges
d’un nouvel Aquarium pour le nouveau millénaire
Christopher ANDREWS
South Carolina Aquarium, 100 Aquarium Wharf,
PO Box 130001, Charleston, South Carolina 29413, USA
ABSTRACT
The South Carolina Aquarium is a 9300 square meter facility situated on the historic
harbor in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, USA. The Aquarium is a non-profit
educational institution, governed by a Board of Directors and operated by 140 full and
part-time staff and over 400 volunteers. The total project cost was $69million, and these
monies came from a combination of public ($47 million) and private ($22 million)
sources. The theme of the exhibit route is a journey -“from the mountains to the sea”-
across the state of South Carolina, emphasizing the five geographic regions of the state
as well as its tremendous biodiversity. The concept for the South Carolina Aquarium
was developed in the early 1980’s, designed in the late 80’s and early 90’s and
constructed in the late 90’s.
RÉSUMÉ
Le nouvel Aquarium de la Caroline du Sud est un édifice de 9300 m², situé sur le
port de la ville historique de Charleston, Caroline du Sud, États Unis. Cet Aquarium est
une institution dédiée à l’instruction du public. Elle est gérée par un conseil
d’administration et fonctionne avec 140 employés à plein et mi–temps, ainsi qu’avec
l’aide d’un large groupe de volontaires de plus de 400 personnes. Le projet a coûté 69
millions de $, le financement a été constitué par l’association de revenus publics (47
millions de $) et privés (22 millions de $). L’exposition est intitulée “de la montagne à
la mer”. Le visiteur y découvre les cinq régions de l’état de Caroline du Sud et leurs
différences. Le projet de l’Aquarium a débuté aux alentours de 1980. Le plan
d’architecture commence lui aussi dans les années 80, quant à la construction, elle ne
commencera qu’en 1990 pour se terminer à l’aube de l’an 2000.
Bulletin de l’Institut océanographique, Monaco, n° spécial 20, volume 2 (2001)

2. INTRODUCTION
After nearly two decades of planning, development and construction, the
South Carolina Aquarium opened on May 19, 2000, in Charleston, South
Carolina. The idea of the South Carolina Aquarium was first conceived during
the early 1980’s, and it was initially envisioned as a 2500 square meter “marine
science museum” in downtown Charleston (with an estimated annual attendance
of about 200,000). In 1985, a site within easy walking distance of the historic
district of Charleston was identified, and in 1986 Clark and Menefee were
chosen as the architects for the site and the shell of the building (Andrews,
1997).
A design team was assembled in 1987, with Rhodes/Dahl, Inc. managing the
project on behalf of the City of Charleston. A conceptual design was produced
in 1988, suggesting a revised floor plan of 6,800 square meters. Upon
completion of the design work in 1992, the project had developed into a 9,300
square meter facility (with an anticipated annual attendance of about one
million). As described by Andrews (1998 and 2000), the opening date was
originally scheduled for 1995, but significant delays occurred during 1992
through 1998, resulting in an actual opening date in May 2000.
MISSION, THEME AND SCOPE
The Aquarium building is owned by the City of Charleston but managed and
operated by the South Carolina Aquarium, Inc., a private 501(c) (3) non-profit
organization, under a sub-lease agreement with the City of Charleston (since the
site is actually owned by the National Park Service and leased to the City). The
Board of Directors of the non-profit organization was recruited from across
South Carolina, and the non-profit organization was formally incorporated in
South Carolina in 1992. In June 1997, a management agreement regarding the
management and operation of the Aquarium was established between the non-
profit organization and the City of Charleston.
The mission statement of the South Carolina Aquarium states: “The South
Carolina Aquarium is a self supporting educational institution dedicated to
excellence in its display of the aquatic environments of South Carolina. The
South Carolina Aquarium inspires wonder and appreciation for, and fosters
conservation of, those environments for future generations.”
The exhibit theme of the Aquarium is a journey across South Carolina, from
the mountains to the sea. Five geographic zones are represented by over 60
exhibits, including a 250 square meter walk-through Mountain Forest exhibit, a
250 square meter walk-through Salt Marsh exhibit, and a 1.6 million liter Great
Ocean Tank. Although one of the smallest of the states, South Carolina is among
Bulletin de l’Institut océanographique, Monaco, n° spécial 20, fascicule 2 (2001)

3. the nation’s most biodiverse; the exhibitry at the Aquarium reflects this
biodiversity, with the living collection comprising of river otters, birds, fish,
sharks and rays, reptiles, amphibians, marine invertebrates and an extensive
range of live plants. The exhibit route also includes a large number of interactive
“dry” exhibits, a large “Discovery Lab” (touch pool), and a 240 square meter
changing exhibit gallery (that currently exhibits the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s
“Fishing for Solutions” exhibit through 2001). There are also two 60 square
meter classrooms ,and a 270 square meter gift shop. The Aquarium capitalizes
on its location on the Cooper River, with large windows and outside decks
providing spectacular views of Charleston Harbor, its working port, the river
and the ocean beyond. There is space to the north of the building to add a 4,000
square meter expansion.
In addition, the Aquarium also utilizes four off-site locations. These are an
800 square meter Animal Holding Facility, a 1,000 square meter warehouse,
1,500 square meters of additional office space, and a small horticulture facility.
FUNDING AND BUDGETS
The development and construction budget for the South Carolina Aquarium
was $69 million. Forty-seven million dollars came from public sources, and
twenty-two million dollars where from private sources. As a result of the
success of the Aquarium’s private fundraising campaign, the Aquarium
managed to open with very little debt. The $69 million project budget was
comprised of $30 million of construction (“hard”) costs, including site
remediation, $17 million of construction (“soft”) costs, $22 million of the non-
profit’s pre-opening costs.
RECRUITMENT AND STAFFING
The Aquarium grew from three full time employees at the start of 1997 to
145 employees (116 full time and 29 part time or seasonal staff) by the end of
June 2000. During January through June 2000, 1,844 resumes were received,
from which 108 people were hired. Eighty-seven staff were hired during April
through June 2000, predominantly frontline (admissions, environmental services
and retail) staff.
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING
Maintaining good public (including community) relations during the
extended time frame associated with a project with such large commitment of
public funds, and while a substantial private fundraising campaign was
underway, was both challenging and essential. In early 1997, the Aquarium
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4. engaged the services of Rawle-Murdy, Inc, a local public relations and
marketing company. Initially, attention was focused on developing and
maintaining good public relations through local and regional media activities
and an extensive community outreach program. During 1999, the public
relations campaign expanded to include national media, and additional attention
was focused on the development of appropriate and distinctive sales and
collateral materials, and eventually a coordinated local and regional print and
broadcast advertising campaign (with associated promotional activities).
SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION
Aquarium staff took substantial completion of the building on December 17,
1999 (with the opening scheduled for May 19, 2000). The completion schedules
for two of the larger exhibits are summarized below.
Great Ocean Tank: The artificial hard bottom reef décor in this 1.6 million liter
centerpiece exhibit was completed in November 1999. In early December, the
pumps and sand filters were turned on and the tank flushed twice with
freshwater. Various minor modifications were made to the tank and its décor in
mid-December, and the tank filled with natural seawater over a five-day period
(12/27/99 – 1/3/00). At this time the foam fractionators and ozone were brought
on-line. It took about three weeks for water conditions (including temperature)
in the tank to stabilize, whereupon mature biofilter media were added to the
tank’s life support system on 1/28/00. This media had been maturing in the
Aquarium’s off-site animal holding facility for several months. Ammonium
chloride was then added to the system and biofilter maturation appeared to be
complete by 3/13/00. The first animal (a large sea turtle) was added on 2/22/00,
and bony fish and elasmobranchs added from 3/13/00 onwards.
Mountain Forest: The artificial upland rocky décor in this 250 square meter
walk-through exhibit was largely completed in November 1999, as was the plant
fogging system. The plant irrigation system was installed in the first half of
December and the soil mix added during the third week of December. Trees,
shrubs and other live plants were added during November 1999 through January
2000, and the otter and fish life support systems brought on-line in late January.
Water stabilization (including acid leaching) took 21 days (1/28/00 – 2/24/00),
during which time modifications to the life support piping system were also
performed. Maturation of the biological filters took 28 days, at which point
(4/20/00) fish were added for the first time. Otters, birds, and animals for the
small terrarium exhibits were added from April onwards.
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
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5. A feature of the development of the South Carolina Aquarium was its focus
on education in general and conservation and school programs in particular.
Priorities within the Aquarium’s Education Master Plan are:
• School programs, noting that every child that comes as a part of a pre-
arranged organized school group from within South Carolina will be
admitted free of charge
• Programs that enhance the experience of the general visitor (and focus
on conservation)
• An appropriate Internet presence
• An extensive community volunteer program
Aquarium staff, along with education staff from across the state, wrote the
school curriculum materials during 1998 and 1999, and these materials were
reviewed, tested and developed in 1999 and 2000. Notable features of the
Aquarium’s school programs are an emphasis on the use of the exhibit galleries
rather than classrooms for structures activities and an emphasis on a sustained
partnership with the user groups of teachers. The South Carolina Aquarium’s
school programs will begin in fall 2000, with an anticipated 18,000 students
during this first academic year. Copies of the Aquarium’s education materials
are available on the Aquarium’s web site.
The Aquarium’s conservation programs fall within two major areas of the
Aquarium’s exhibitry: watersheds and marine fisheries. Gallery programs for
the general visitors are built on conservation messages, with an integral action
component through local, regional and national partnerships.
MARKET AND ATTENDANCE
Based upon 1996 and 1997 data, the following resident and tourist markets
were identified for the South Carolina Aquarium: primary resident market
492,000; secondary resident market 414,000; tertiary resident market 1,740,000;
Charleston visitors 3,248,000 (total 5,894,000). As a result, stabilized attendance
projections in the range of 700,000 – 1,020,000 (mid-point 860,000) were
established. The average daily and total monthly (both rounded) attendance data
for May 19 through July 2000 are:
Weekdays Weekends Total for month
May 3,300 5,450 51,000
June 3,980 5,930 135,000
July 4,450 5,640 150,000
Bulletin de l’Institut océanographique, Monaco, n° spécial 20, fascicule 2 (2001)

6. Total 336,000
PRE-OPENING PRIORITIES
Annual planning retreats for the Aquarium’s senior management team during
1997, 1998 and 1999 consistently identified the following pre-opening priorities
(Andrews, 2000):
• Fundraising
• Guest experience
• Program development
• Support services and infrastructure
Minimizing debt financing was extremely important, and through the
activities of the Aquarium staff and its Board of Directors, the South Carolina
Aquarium opened with a relatively small credit line with a consortium of four
banks and a small, interest-free loan with the City of Charleston. The success of
the Aquarium’s fundraising campaign is attributed to the integrity and clear
mission of the organization, and the fact this was effectively and accurately
communicated to the corporations, foundations and individuals that were
specifically targeted. Indeed, in most instances the Aquarium was able to exceed
their expectations as donors. Careful selection of local, regional and national
foundations was also important, in order to achieve a high rate of success in the
Aquarium’s grant applications.
Careful financial management is essential during a start-up. Aquarium staff,
with guidance from the Board of Directors and the Finance and Audit
Committee, ensured rigorous and ongoing review of budgets and expenditures.
This applied especially to the staff recruitment schedule and the outsourcing of
selected functions during the construction delays that occurred in 1997/1998.
With regard to information systems, the Aquarium has a local area network
(LAN) with over 140 PC users. This was developed and installed predominantly
by in-house staff, who continually seek to keep the Aquarium current with the
latest hardware and software. The goal of the Aquarium’s Information
Technology Department has been to ensure zero downtime of our information
systems during operating hours. Thus far, this goal has been achieved.
Furthermore, the Aquarium has attached a great deal of importance to the
development of fluid information systems that can relate to each other and
generate the necessary reports while minimizing the need for staff management
time.
The design of the Aquarium’s admissions area limited the number of tickets
booths to four, plus a mobile membership sales and admission cart. Therefore,
careful selection of the hardware and the ticketing system was of paramount
Bulletin de l’Institut océanographique, Monaco, n° spécial 20, fascicule 2 (2001)

7. importance (so as to minimize transaction times). The VISTA ticketing and
reservations system has proved to be very user friendly, which was key during
the short training time that was available for frontline staff. As a part of the
ticketing system, the Aquarium uses Web Authorize for credit card approval via
a T-1 line (frame relay). Staff are able to process over 1,000 guests per hour
through the four ticket booths.
More than two years before opening, the Aquarium staff and volunteers
developed an 800 square meter animal holding facility in downtown Charleston.
This proved invaluable in generating excitement, especially during the
construction delays which occurred in 1997/1998, and also allowed the
Husbandry staff to accumulate and quarantine significant numbers of animals
prior to opening (as well as begin the life support system biofilter maturation
described above).
The Aquarium is situated at the east end of Calhoun Street in downtown
Charleston. It is a part of a larger development that now includes extensive
street remodeling, an 1,100 space City-owned parking garage, a large park,
playing fields, a privately operated 450 seat 2D/3D IMAX Theatre, and regular
bus service as part of the City’s downtown shuttle. By the end of 2001, a food
court, various shops, additional office space, a restaurant and the National Park
Service Fort Sumter Tour Boat and Interpretive Center will be completed
adjacent to the Aquarium. Ensuring that there was sufficient “critical mass”
around the Aquarium became a major focus for the Aquarium staff, its Board of
Directors and the City of Charleston during the pre opening period.
Since an Aquarium can only reach its true potential though partnerships, a
considerable amount of time and effort was devoted to partnership building.
This applied to a wide range of local, regional and, in some instances, national
organizations, especially (but not exclusively) in the realms of education and
conservation-action. In January 2000, the Aquarium hosted an informal
workshop to discuss the possible roles for the South Carolina Aquarium in
scientific research. This involved delegates from many of the in-state colleges
and universities, and the state and federal agencies, along with representatives
from Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens (Columbia, South Carolina), the Tennessee
Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Other partnerships have been
developed in regard to, for example, school program and curriculum
development, community relations, and the in-state hospitality and tourism
industry.
REFERENCES
ANDREWS, C., 1997. -The past, present and future of the South Carolina
Aquarium
1997 AZA Annual Conference Proceedings, 29 – 34.
Bulletin de l’Institut océanographique, Monaco, n° spécial 20, fascicule 2 (2001)

8. ANDREWS, C., 1998. -The South Carolina Aquarium: planning confronts
reality-, Presented at the 1998 AZA Eastern Regional Conference, Boston,
MA (April, 1998).
ANDREWS, C., 2000. - Gestation, birth and early life history of the South
Carolina Aquarium (Charleston, South Carolina), an aquarium new to the
south east Appalachian watershed-. 2000 AZA Annual Conference
Proceedings, 113 – 120.
Bulletin de l’Institut océanographique, Monaco, n° spécial 20, fascicule 2 (2001)