When the North Carolina Aquariums in Roanoke Island, Pine Knoll Shores and Fort Fisher first began public outreach as marine resources centers in 1976, the facilities were as small as the budget.
Now, five decades and multiple renovations later, the three facilities and Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, which joined the N.C. Aquariums divisions in 2011, can accommodate more than $1.4 million visitors a year.
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With the 50th anniversary of the Roanoke Island location opening on Sept. 9, 1976, and Fort Fisher and Pine Knoll Shores on Sept. 10, 1976, N.C. Aquariums division has been celebrating five decades of “inspiring wonder” with a year of events.
“Honoring the rich 50‑year history of the North Carolina Aquariums with a celebration at the place where it all began — the NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island — fills us with tremendous pride,” Aquarium Division Director Hap Fatzinger told Coastal Review Friday.
“It reaffirms the partnerships we’ve built, the connections we’ve strengthened, and the meaningful impacts we’ve made across the state. As we commemorate this milestone, we’re also looking ahead, expanding our focus toward even greater opportunities that will shape the future of conservation in North Carolina,” he added.
When these three locations first opened, exhibits highlighted habitats, education and research, underwater archaeology, barrier island ecosystems, fossils, regional fish life, touch pools, guided marsh tours, seafood harvesting and insect control, according to information from the aquarium.
The facilities were renamed in 1986 to what they’re known as today, the North Carolina Aquariums at Roanoke Island, Fort Fisher and Pine Knoll Shores, and transitioned from the North Carolina Department of Administration to what is now the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
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The nonprofit North Carolina Aquarium Society formed in 1986, as well, and continues to support the aquarium system as its fundraising partner.
“It is an honor to celebrate five decades of inspiring wonder, saving species and enriching the understanding of our aquatic ecosystems alongside our partners, the Aquarium Division,” Society President Liz Baird said Friday. “We are grateful to the donors and members who have helped build this legacy and are supporting us into the future. Fifty years is a remarkable milestone to reach, and we look forward to reaching many more.”
Jay Barnes, a name that has been associated with the state aquariums for decades, began his career at the Pine Knoll Shores aquarium in 1980. He was promoted to director 1989 and retired in 2009, when he transitioned to the nonprofit support partner, the North Carolina Aquarium Society. He became CEO and president, retiring from that role in 2023.
He told Coastal Review in a past interview for an article the 50th anniversary of Pine Knoll Shores aquarium that when he began at the aquarium 40 years ago, all three facilities were modest in size and budget, operating on small staffs who created the few exhibits that began drawing in visitors.
“We became accredited in 1990 with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums,” Barnes said about the international organization that strive to promote excellence and visitor safety and staff safety and animal welfare all across the world. “It’s a very high bar to be an accredited zoo or aquarium.”
In the mid-1990s there was momentum to renovate and expand the three sites to accommodate the growing number of visitors. The three sites were expanded in the early 2000s to roughly three times their original footprint and the exhibits were updated.
Barnes said these renovations in the early 2000s offered a new generation of aquarium visitors a new experience.
“We all recognize that when you have an attraction like the zoo or the aquariums, you have an educational mission,” he said, but these also attract visitors, “which generates support for the coastal community, and, that economic impact is not a small thing. Yes, we always have billed ourselves as conservation and educational facilities, but we recognize that along with that comes the joy that people have of being able to experience a place like the aquarium while they’re on vacation.”
The Roanoke Island aquarium was renovated first. The site was closed for about two years while the 15,000-square-foot facility was expanded to 61,000 square feet on 16 acres on the Croatan Sound. The destination reopened in 2000, with the 285,000-gallon Graveyard of the Atlantic exhibit as the centerpiece.
Fort Fisher was also expanded to around triple its size and reopened in 2002 and Pine Knoll Shores was renovated then reopened in 2006. The state is working on another round of renovations.
The Fort Fisher facility is currently closed and has been since earlier this year while a 30-month renovation. The aquarium has a presence at Independence Mall in Wilmington called Discovery Bay that has ambassador animal encounters, marine life habitats, environmental education programs and a gift shop.
Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head became part of the aquarium system in 2011. The pier built in 1939 was the first on the Outer Banks and has been rebuilt several times since because of storm damage. The now 1,000-foot-long concrete platform offers a place to fish and to learn.
Roanoke Island Aquarium Director Larry Warner joined the aquarium staff in February of 2010 as exhibits curator.
During his almost seven years in that role, he said he worked closely with various departments to accomplish “such impactful additions as the Soundside Pier,” which he said allows “guests access to the waterfront and a bevy of new educational programming opportunities.” The 200-foot pier and gazebo that stretches over the Croatan Sound was build in 2013.
Warner was also involved in getting the 3,000-square-foot Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation, or STAR, Center opened in 2014, and in 2016 a $6.75 million interior renovation of the entire facility. The STAR Center is the onsite sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation hospital.
“It was a time of tremendous growth for the aquarium,” Warner said.
He left for a few years in 2016 when he was director of exhibits at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut but returned to Manteo 2019 to serve as the aquarium director, “and I couldn’t have been more delighted to return to a facility I was intimately familiar with and a community that I had come to love and value.”
Warner added that he celebrated seven years as director just last week and he is “as excited today, as we celebrate 50 years of the NC Aquariums, as I was when I began in 2010.”
The aquariums and Jennette’s Pier “have embarked on an exciting new strategic plan that will help lead us in education and conservation for many years to come,” he continued.
The “amazing and dedicated” teams at the Roanoke Island aquarium, as well as those at each of the other facilities and within the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources “makes every day worth pushing our great new mission forward as ‘we inspire care and conservation of nature by connecting people with the aquatic world!’”
Roanoke Island Aquarium Communications Manager Andi DiDario said that it has been “really exciting to look back at 50 years of connecting people with aquatic life and our coastal environments, while also looking ahead to many more years of fulfilling our mission and welcoming people through our doors.”
Weekend celebrations
Pine Knoll Shores aquarium celebrated the golden anniversary with a birthday bash in July and staff at the Roanoke Island location are gearing up for a week of the same, starting with special programming included with general admission Sept. 9 to recognize the anniversary date 50 years ago.
Organizers said the daytime program on Wednesday will feature interactive stations, shipwreck stories featuring divers speaking with guests from inside the 285,000‑gallon shark habitat, creature features with animal ambassadors, and other special experiences throughout the aquarium.
That weekend, the “Sea‑lebration by the Sound” is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Included with admission, there will be face painting, sandcastle building, craft and creation stations, an inflatable slide, carnival‑style games, a scavenger hunt, prizes, photo opportunities with the giant inflatable crab, and regular programming such as creature features with animal ambassadors. The on-site Shark Bites Snack Bar will have an exclusive menu including special root beer floats and corn dog bites for purchase.
The aquarium is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Organizers recommend reserving their general admission ticket in advance online, visit the website.
That evening the “Golden Tides: Celebrating 50 Years of the NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island” will give guests a chance to visit touch pools, encounter aquatic animals, watch the sunset and observe a live painter creating an original work inspired by the aquarium. Tickets are $75 for nonmembers and $65 for members and can be purchased on the website. Must be 21 or older.
“Golden Ties” is the first event of its kind at the aquarium. The 21-and-up celebration “gives adults a chance to experience the Aquarium in a completely different way” and features live music, sustainable seafood, an oyster roast station, a raw bar, drinks, and adult beverages sponsored through the North Carolina Aquarium Society, DiDario said.
Each ticket for the event sponsored by the aquarium society includes two complimentary drink tickets, unlimited seafood and hors d’oeuvres, after‑hours access to the aquarium, exclusive 50th anniversary gifts including a commemorative koozie, pint glass, and specialty photo keepsake, and access to all scheduled entertainment.
“We’re really excited to offer both events and celebrate the Aquarium’s 50th anniversary with our community,” DiDario said.
