Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a Florida non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to restoring and preserving our marine life and environment through leadership in education, research and the rescue, rehabilitation and release of marine life. Visit www.SeeWinter.com to see speaker series lectures planned for the entire year. CMA is home to dolphins, sea turtles, river otters, stingrays, nurse sharks and more. Winter the dolphin's story of survival and inspiration has touched millions of people around the world. A movie, Dolphin Tale, about her life story was a #1 box office hit in theaters, and is now available in DVD. Produced by Warner Bros.-based Alcon Entertainment, Dolphin Tale stars Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick, Jr., and Ashley Judd. Her documentary, "Winter: The Dolphin that Could," is available at www.SeeWinter.com. The documentary takes viewers on an extraordinary journey through her rescue, fight to stay alive and extensive rehabilitation. Scholastic published Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again in October 2009.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium's mission is to restore and preserve our marine environment. We accomplish our mission through leadership in education, research, and the rescue, rehabilitation, & release of marine life. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

In 1972, a group of dedicated volunteers decided it was time to establish a permanent marine biology learning center in our area. The Sea-Orama, a mounted fish exhibit at Clearwater Marina, had been in storage for several years. Hoping for a larger exhibit, perhaps with live animals to observe, we were incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under the name Clearwater Marine Science Center (CMSC). Soon a search for a site was underway for the prospective inside building facility.

In 1978, the city of Clearwater agreed to donate our current facility, an abandoned water treatment plant, to CMSC. With its huge holding tanks and bayside location, the building was a perfect fit for a marine facility's needs. In 1979, marine biologist Dennis Kellenberger was hired as CMSC's Executive Director; his main duties were teaching classes and spearheading a massive remodeling effort. Summer camp classes for youngsters which are operated by the CMA Education Department have been extraordinarily popular here ever since.

Little by little, the cement and steel building was modified for aquarium purposes and in 1980 was granted a USDA Research Facility permit, allowing it to prepare two 65,000 gallon tanks for the rehabilitation of dolphins, whales and sea turtles. In 1981, the first exhibit room, featuring fish from the original Sea-Orama, was opened to the public. Over the next few years, thanks to individual and corporate donations and immense volunteer efforts, CMSC continued to grow. Many animals were cared for, and in 1984 an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named "Sunset Sam" was rescued and given a permanent home at the center. In the 1990's, as renovations continued to provide more public area and education programs, our name was changed to Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) to reflect the increasing level of community interaction.

Today, Clearwater Marine Aquarium is an internationally respected center for animal care, public education and marine research. Yet, in spite of tremendous growth and a global presence, we also remain a "neighborhood" aquarium, a place where children and adults alike can visit anytime to wonder at the unending diversity, grace and beauty of the creatures of the sea. We invite everyone to visit often and soon to share in the environmental excellence and caring of our waters and marine life, no matter where you may live.