SARASOTA, Fla. — Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium announced that its long-awaited Mote Science Education Aquarium (SEA) will officially open to the public on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at Nathan Benderson Park. Tickets for the grand opening event and general admission are now available at mote.org/tickets.
The 12-acre, 146,000-square-foot facility represents a major expansion of Mote’s mission to advance marine science and public education. Located at a central site connecting Sarasota and Manatee counties, Mote SEA is designed to dramatically increase access to hands-on learning, with a goal of reaching much larger and more diverse audiences from across Florida and beyond.
Central to the new aquarium are three state-of-the-art STEM Teaching Labs, each focused on distinct areas of study: Biomedical, Microbiology & Immunology; Marine & Coastal Ecology; and Ocean Engineering, AI Technology, Robotics & Sensor Development. According to Mote, these spaces will give more than 70,000 local K–12 students annually—over 26,000 of them from Title 1 schools—free access to hands-on science experiences. Five additional Workforce Training Labs will also provide high school, undergraduate, and graduate students the chance to work directly with Mote scientists in areas such as aquaculture, coral restoration, veterinary science, and artificial intelligence…