We look forward to seeing
Please visit our new website at FresnoAquarium.org about the development of the Fresno Aquarium campus and our executive director's blog about the donation of 12 major exhibits from the California Academy of Sciences (Steinhart Aquarium) and other stories and thoughts relating to our programs, our project, our part of the world and beyond.
Welcome!
Thank you for visiting our website! We need everyone's support to continue the progress we've already made toward building the Fresno Aquarium for all the citizens of California's San Joaquin Valley.
Award-winning architect, Arthur Dyson, AIA, dean emeritus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, has designed a green, state-of-the-art educational Fresno Aquarium and research campus (Phase Two rendering above) for the nonprofit 501(c)(3) Aquarius Aquarium Institute of Fresno - California's 5th largest city. We will be pursuing LEED® certification for the buildings upon completion. To view pictures of the site work click here.
Our 10-acre site (see Google map), a former sand and gravel mining and asphalt plant, was generously donated to the Institute by the Roy and Betty Jura family in August 2006 after the Aquarium project completed all of its environmental studies and received the unanimous approval of the Fresno County Planning Commission. The property overlooks Reach 1 of the San Joaquin River Restoration and is adjacent to Highway 99 at the northern entrance to the City and County of Fresno at the western end of the 3,500-acre San Joaquin River Parkway within the federally-designated San Joaquin River Blueway.
After the Fresno City Council unanimously voted on January 27, 2009 to amend the City's 2025 General Plan to include the Aquarium property, the City of Fresno received unanimous approval from the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) on April 15, 2009 to bring the project into its adopted Sphere of Influence. This approval was required in order for us to extend City water and sewer lines to the Aquarium in the future. The City Council again voted unanimously on January 28, 2010 in support of a proposed grant application by the Aquarium to the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) for City water and sewer infrastructure to serve it and the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on June 21, 2011 to adopt a revised Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) including the Fresno Aquarium project (page 59) for submittal to the EDA.
All of these complicated steps require a great deal of political and monetary support and the Institute's Board of Directors and founders Tom and Aletha Lang are sincerely grateful for all that we've received thus far. We hope you will join us or continue your support in any way possible to help us make this important educational facility for the entire San Joaquin Valley a reality very soon!
Aquarius Aquarium Institute's mission focuses on the education of our Central Valley school children, interpretive exhibits about California aquatic life past and present, ongoing scientific research and the aquarium propagation of endangered tropical marine life. What the Fresno Aquarium means to California's San Joaquin Valley:
Before buildings on the site begin to take shape, let's take a look at what visitors to the Fresno Aquarium will experience:
In order to make this beautiful educational Aquarium in Fresno a reality for our Valley, we need everyone to make a tax-deductible donation in any amount or become an Annual Charter Member today. We've made significant progress already and every new donation brings us that much closer to groundbreaking! Please Note: A PayPal account is not required to donate - just a credit or debit card! We gratefully accept:  or call us to donate with your check or credit card over the phone: You may also mail your check to: 5541 Columbia Drive North Fresno, CA 93727 The triangular wave logo is a registered trademark of Aquarius Aquarium Institute.
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