Mote outreach center opens at AM pier

Anna Maria resident Harper Chastain, 4, smiles as she reaches May 5 to feel a sea urchin below the surface in a touch tank at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium Marine Science Education and Outreach Center, which opened that day on the Anna Maria City Pier. The outreach center includes four live exhibits and several interactive displays. It is open to the public 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Islander Photos: Ryan Paice

Vermont resident Alex Bacon holds his daughter, Anabel, 15 months, as she reaches May 5 into a touch tank to feel the back of a horseshoe crab.

Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge, left, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy and Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium president/CEO Michael Crosby cut a ribbon May 5 to signify the opening of the Mote Marine Science Education and Outreach Center at the T-end of the city pier.

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, right, introduces himself to the crowd May 5 at the opening ceremony for the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium Marine Science Education and Outreach Center.

Weston Offerle, 2, of Indiana, plays while on a family vacation May 5 with an interactive exhibit — which educates people about how manatees control their buoyancy — at the Mote educational center on the Anna Maria City Pier.

People promenade May 5 along the walkway of the Anna Maria City Pier for the opening of the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium Marine Science Education and Outreach Center.

People mingle and explore May 5 at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium outreach center on the city pier for the first time. The outreach center has been in the works since Mote signed a lease for the 1,800-square-foot facility in September 2021.

Children use crayons May 5 at the Mote center on the Anna Maria City Pier to color turtles and fish. Their drawings can be scanned and animated on a screen at the center.