NoVAquarium will be a public aquarium located in Northern Virginia. Its mission will be to inspire conservation, education, and engagement. This three pronged mission encompasses a vast role in today’s society. It promotes stewardship of the environment and preservation of our natural resources, not only in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but also beyond our state lines and across international bord
ers and waters. As people around the world have recognized, people in general have not been the best caretakers of the environment and public aquariums serve a vital role in preserving the world we live in for future generations. As a public aquarium, NoVAquarium collection would focus on both freshwater and marine invertebrates and fish, reptiles and amphibians, and terrestrial invertebrates. In order to properly house and present these animal species, NoVAquarium would also feature plants, both native and exotic, as well as artificial environments designed to mimic the natural environments in which these animals occur. As a pillar of conservation efforts, NoVAquarium would identify and highlight the plight of endangered or threatened species and ecosystems, both local and exotic, and give visitors the opportunity to get a glimpse into the lives of these animals and the role they play in the environment. Through presenting these animals, NoVAquarium would promote their conservation and dedicate some of our efforts to their preservation in the wild. As an educational facility, NoVAquarium would go beyond simply teaching visitors to the facility about the environment and the creatures that we share it with and seek to educate those that impact our youth. Through building relationships with local school districts and forging partnerships with institutes of higher education, NoVAquarium would instill its mission in the leaders of tomorrow and help to increase ocean literacy and raise awareness of the impact of humans on the environment. In addition to this, through hiring the best and the brightest in the industry, NoVAquarium would serve as a repository of knowledge for local, state, and federal governments to access. As the last part of its mission, NoVAquarium would focus on engaging those who visit on physical, emotional, and intellectual levels. Through its exhibits, programming, and presentations, NoVAquarium will be an institution that people will want to come to and be a part of beyond a single visit. Whether by observing an animal in its gallery enclosure, taking a class offered by NoVAquarium staff, or by meeting an animal up close and personal during an animal encounter, visitors will become personally engaged in what they are seeing and will take to heart our mission.
