FC Buzz: The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is listening

BY BRIAN DAVIS

Since taking the helm of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, I have been on a mission to listen, learn and ask.

As the second-largest family attraction in Connecticut (and the largest in Fairfield County), the aquarium is an important economic driver for growth and development here in the South Norwalk neighborhood, and for tourism revenues for the City of Norwalk as well as the state. But how can we do better?

Brian Davis

We are proud of being a major regional resource for environmental education, with 130,000 students taking part in our programming each year. These programs support teachers by helping them to fulfill state and national teaching standards. Our new slate of public programs extends learning opportunities beyond school groups ”” now to families and a wide range of unique audiences. And our new state-of-the-art research vessel allows us to team with area universities and better understand Long Island Sound and the marine environment. How can we do better?

Trip Advisor just awarded us its coveted Traveler”™s Choice Award, given to “the top 1 percent of Trip Advisor properties based on traveler reviews.” That reflects on the excellent efforts of our staff and volunteers. How can we do better?

My exciting task is to answer those challenges; to connect the Aquarium in deeper ways with our home Norwalk community; and to find new ways to entertain and inform our guests with live marine exhibits that are creative and engaging. Doing so will further the tourism-driven economic impact on the city and state.

As visitors to public aquariums become more educated and aware, so too must our exhibits become more sophisticated and powerful. Amazing new technologies are available that could immerse Aquarium guests deeper than ever in the Sound and the ocean beyond. Achieving these goals will require partnerships with the Fairfield County business community. So we will talk with old friends, and we will seek out new friends, and imagine together how to realize our common visions.

Brian Davis is executive director of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, a member of the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County.