College Course at Texas State Aquarium Begins Tuesday, May 29  

May 28, 2018

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – A Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) class held onsite at the Texas State Aquarium and teaching about wildlife conservation, welfare, and research will begin coursework on May 29. The course will be held 9:30 a.m. – 11:25 a.m., and media are invited to attend to capture footage of this exciting and interactive education opportunity.

This Special Topics 3 credit course, entitled “Texas State Aquarium Animal Care Operations – a Look at Conservation, Welfare and Research,” proved to be extremely popular with students, with available class slots filling up in only six minutes. The first class will feature a lecture from Jesse Gilbert, TSA’s Senior VP and COO.

The course will provide unprecedented opportunities for biology students to study animal care activities at the Texas State Aquarium from both TAMU-CC and TSA instructors. Additional instructors from the Aquarium will include staff of TSA’s Fish & Herpetology, Marine Mammal, and Bird & Mammal departments. TAMU-CC instructors will consist of Dr. Ed Proffitt and Dr. John Scarpa.

Building off of its strong relationships with TAMU-CC and the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at TAMU-CC (HRI), the Aquarium entered into a Memo of Understanding with TAMU-CC in Fall 2017. TAMU-CC and HRI have been longtime local partners of the Aquarium in education, research, and wildlife conservation and entered into the agreement to mutually strengthen their advancements in life science and engineering.

The class will meet at the Aquarium Mondays through Thursdays from 9:30 – 11:25 a.m. until June 29. The course will include lectures and hands-on activities and will be the first in a series of opportunities for students to learn about the program at the Texas State Aquarium and to gain experience in aquarium operation and conservation programs.