VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Volusia County’s Marine Science Center will reopen to the public on June 24 after a $4.2 million renovation project that began in September 2024.
The center was closed for nine months as renovations took place to improve marine exhibits, expand education facilities, and upgrade visitor amenities.
The additions include:
- The John Crisp Artificial Reef Exhibit, showcasing the benefits of Volusia County’s artificial reef program
- A 1,500-square-foot multipurpose education building
- A living shoreline exhibit
- A living reef exhibit
- A working coral lab that will provide research opportunities to high school and college students
- Enhancements to the parking area and main building to improve the traffic flow for visitors
- An aquarium quarantine deck added to safely introduce new fish into the exhibits
Funding for the renovation came from a Volusia ECHO grant and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Prices for the science center will remain the same after it reopens. It costs $7 for seniors 50 and older, $8 for adults 13 and older, $5 for kids 3 to 12, and is free for children 2 and under.
Individual annual passes cost $21, and family passes cost $60.
Anyone with an annual pass before the renovations began will receive extensions to cover the center’s closure period.
During the nine-month closure, staff continued to care for and rehabilitate hundreds of birds and sea turtles.
Since the center’s opening in 2002, staff there have treated more than 27,000 turtles and reptiles. The Mary Keller Seabird Rehabilitation Facility, also part of the science center since 2004, has cared for more than 19,000 seabirds.
The Marine Science Center encourages people to continue supporting its mission by making donations online.
The Marine Science Center will be open from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, visit www.marinesciencecenter.com or call 386-304-5545.
