Marine Science Center opens new building dedicated to housing injured raptors

PONCE INLET — The Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet Tuesday morning officially opened the Raptor Education and Conservation Exhibit, a new home to the center’s injured raptor residents.

The exhibit is designed to accommodate six birds at a time and will feature a rotation of screech owls, red-shouldered hawks, red-tailed hawks, Cooper’s hawks, peregrine falcons, and great horned owls.

The new building, which took about nine months to be completed, is approximately 650 square feet and is located adjacent to the elevated boardwalk and immediately west of the Marine Science Center’s main building.

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Inside the exhibit is a covered pedestrian viewing area with three bird enclosures on each side, along with other features such as educational signage and interactive touch-screen information stations to enhance the visitor experience.

“It took a whole village to make these enclosures,” said Tracy Dawson, the center’s bird rehabilitation manager at a grand opening ceremony. “I’m so happy that it’s all come to fruition — I still can’t really believe it.”

“We’re excited to highlight raptors, their importance, and the links necessary to ensure their survival,” said the center's director Chad Macfie. “The raptor ambassadors that you see today are trained and cared for by the bird department. These ambassadors are unreleasable due to their injuries, and each one has a distinct personality.”

Raptor exhibit’s role in educating the public

Macfie said that one of his favorite parts about the new exhibit is that it helps answer a recurring question from the public: “How can I help?”

“Raptors depend on suitable habitat for survival,” Macfie said. “And the good news is that each backyard can be easily transformed into habitat, places suitable for our wildlife.”

Macfie said the first step would be populating a garden with native plants, which attract “pollinators, butterflies, and all the things that I guarantee you, when you start down this journey, you’re going to be excited to go into your backyard and explore all the new insects and birds that are going to be visitors and call your backyard home.”

Part of the signage inside the exhibit also helps visitors absorb that message and learn how their actions could help raptors.

“A big thing we were trying to do with this exhibit is make interpretive signage that was educational,” Dawson said. “Signs about what a raptor is, why they are important. We also have interactive kiosks with everything in there: our birds’ stories, what we do at the hospital. It’s great.”

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The new structure also replaces the raptor exhibits located across the parking lot from the Marine Science Center’s main exhibit gallery. That area will be repurposed to expand the center’s space devoted to injured birds that are being treated and going through the rehabilitation and healing process while being prepared for release.

Making ‘connections’ with the community

The $330,000 exhibit is funded by “a $208,298 Volusia ECHO Grant, $150,000 in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act revenue loss provision, and $125,000 in community donations made through the Friends of the Marine Science Center, according to Volusia County officials.

Macfie thanked the work of Marine Science Center staff and volunteers, as well as the financial contribution from the county and local organizations.

He said he hopes the new exhibit will help the center reach and work with local bird organizations, such as “the Audubon Society, (and) other bird watcher organizations.”

“Bringing them all together for tours, for programs, and to get them to see this,” he said. “Making those connections is what’s going to help the Marine Science Center and the public move forward in the future. That’s what we miss sometimes — keeping those relationships.”

Admission to the exhibit is included with general admission to the Marine Science Center, which is $8 for adults, $7 for people 50 and older, and $5 for children ages 3 to 12. Children 2 and under are admitted free.

The Marine Science Center is open to the public at 100 Lighthouse Drive, Ponce Inlet. Visitors may view the turtle hospital and explore a marine display area and gift shop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. It is closed to the public on Mondays. For information, visit marinesciencecenter.com or call 386-304-5545.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Marine Science Center opens new raptor exhibit; Here are the details