To the Editor,The Block Island Maritime Center and Aquariums had its grand reopening this past weekend and hundreds of people came to see the fish.On behalf of the Board and staff at BIMI, we want to thank the many people, on island and off island, who have helped over the last five years to make the development of the BIMI Education Center and Aquariums a reality. Everyone can appreciate how difficult this development project was to accomplish during the Covid pandemic.
Diverse maritime groups, including the Woods Hole Science Aquarium, the Save the Bay Exploration Center, URI, the Roosa Fund and the Champlin Foundation provided invaluable support and inspiration for those of us working on the project.Also, special recognition is due to Dan McLaughlin, who led the construction team and Valerie Preler, BIMI’s director, whose patience and dedication made the whole project possible.We hope everyone, and particularly anyone under four feet tall or less than 10 years old, will come down and wonder at sea life in the tanks. The sharks are awesome; jellyfish are beautiful, and the turtle is a lover.
Thanks,Henry HillDirector,Block Island Maritime Institute
