Aquarium Field Trips and Education Classes available for Fall 2022!
There's an ocean of engaging, hands-on educational opportunities available this school year to inspire your young biologists! We look forward to welcoming enthusiastic K-12 students and teachers for Aquarium field trips and education classes this fall! Our STEM-based educational programs meet Missouri Learning Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. Schools can request a field trip and onsite education class now at the link below.
We will also be offering our 30-minute virtual education classes again this fall. Virtual classes include live presentations with ambassador animals, footage of our marine animals, a pre-recorded virtual tour of the Aquarium, and a follow up activity!
The Aquarium Foundation provides free Aquarium admission, bus transportation, and education classes to youth, schools, and families in under-resourced communities through our H2O Friends (Help To Our Friends) program. Focused outreach to Title I schools and youth-serving organizations in historically disinvested neighborhoods ensures equitable access for youth, schools, and families with the greatest need and fewest resources.
Revamp the Riverfront
The Aquarium Foundation Stream Team invites you to help us Revamp the Riverfront, in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway! This will be the last cleanup in our three-part series. As a part of our commitment to water stewardship and supporting our downtown neighbors, we will be cleaning up the Mural Mile on the Mississippi Greenway (6 minutes from St. Louis Aquarium) on September 17th from 10:00am-12:00pm. All are welcome to participate! Gloves, bags and snacks will be provided! Join us in Revamping the Riverfront and preventing plastic pollution from entering the Mighty Mississippi and eventually our oceans!

As a part of this cleanup series, we are participating in the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) to track the debris picked up along the Mississippi River and collect data that can be used to make policy changes to ensure a healthy river for years to come! To participate, feel free to download the Marine Debris Tracker app before arriving. You will receive further instruction on how to use this simple app the day of the cleanup!  
Location: Mural Mile - 998 S Leonor K Sullivan Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63102
Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers and our partners at Great Rivers Greenway who participated in our first two Revamp the Riverfront clean-up events this year along the Mural Mile! We were able to bring in quite the haul and do our part to protect the waterways and log trash on the Marine Debris Tracker app. Overall, we collected over 860 pounds of trash, preventing over 2,000 individual pieces of plastic and debris from spilling into our mighty Mississippi River and traveling out to our oceans! Thank you for helping us demonstrate our commitment to protecting our rivers and oceans from plastic pollution. Check back in the fall to see our final stats from all three cleanups!
Thank you to
our donors and members!*

$25,000-$50,000
St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station
 
$10,000 - $24,999
Hunter Family Foundation
Mary Ranken Jordan and Ettie A. Jordan Charitable Foundation
 
$2,500 - $9,999
Blueprint4Summer
 
$1,500 - $2,499
Cardinals Care
St. Louis Community Foundation
 
$250 - $1,499
St. Charles City-County Library
Carlyle Lake Project
Sopuch Family
Karen and David Lewis
G Richter

*List includes gifts of $250+ received between 4/1/2022 and 6/30/2022


Global Waters Circle Members
Anne and Doug Albrecht
Mark and Susan Bronson
Frank, Josephine, & Patricia Bowolak
William Conley
John and Helen Costello
Nanci Daesch
Craig and Denise Evans
John Henry Foster and Bernadine Foster Foundation
Sam and Marilyn Fox Foundation
Frederic Roofing Co., Inc.
Ron and Cheri Fromm
Bernadine Foster Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. Ted and Gayle Garrett
Robert and Susan Goldstein
Ann Hogan
The Holloway Family
Jesse and Linda Hunter Hydromat
Jonathan and Melissa Losos Pat and Beth Moore*
Katherine and Kurt Mungenast
O'Connell Family
Paz Family Foundation
Greg and JoAnne Pieczynski
Laurie and Ray Van de Riet
Peggy and Jerry Ritter
Dr. Charles and Dr. Liz
Schmitz
David Smith
Anita Siegmund and Nancy Suelflow
Tulina and Ashish Sinha
Tom and Lisa Suntrup
Marty and Susan Tendler
Bank of Washington
Douglas and Lynn Yaeger*

Aquarium Friends Circle Members
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Alliance Real Estate
Christian and Alison Allen Timothy Barringhaus
Bill Deroze
Emily Fondahn
Brian & Nora McMorrow Family Fund
Mike and Martha Hogan
John Mallon
Stephanie Meyer
Adrienne and David Piston Mathew and Rebecca Ritz Jane Schaefer
Maggie Skeffington
Colin and Betsy Toney
Steve and Erin Witthaus

*New or renewed members between 4/1/2022 and 6/30/2022
Thank you to our volunteers!
Did you know our volunteers have served a splashing 7,500+ hours since we opened in December of 2019?! We continue to be blown away by the support of our wonderful community. We are grateful to have such wonderful volunteers to inspire and engage guests in water conservation and education initiatives! Without our volunteers, we would not be where we are today. Thank you to all of our FIN-tastic volunteers!
Interested in volunteering?
Learn more and complete an application here!
Thank you Missouri Prairie Foundation!
MPF offers grants to schools, parks, and conservation organizations to help fulfill their mission to protect and restore prairie and other native grassland communities. The funding we received earlier this year has enabled us to provide fundamental improvements to our garden, including adding a compost bin, water feature, insect “hotel”, more native plant species, and new signs of wildlife, including the birds and frogs that have already appeared! Come check out our Rain Garden, just outside the free admission Conservations & Education Center this summer!
Save the Date
2022 Making Waves Gala
Friday evening, November 11, 2022
St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station
Make waves for the St. Louis Aquarium Foundation's access for all program, H2O Friends. An evening of underwater adventure awaits - cocktails with the otters, dinner with the sharks, and the opportunity to discover the brand new jelly touch experience. For updates and more information click here.
2022 Camp Fins & Friends Summer Camp
This summer the St. Louis Aquarium has been full of summer campers making a splash and having a FIN-tastic time learning about marine biology and exploring all the wonders of the Aquarium! We are exciting to bring back our in-person youth summer camp, Camp Fins & Friends, for ages 5-10. Up to 24 campers each week, for nine weeks, spend the day learning about aquatic animals, thinking critically about conservation issues, participating in fun STEM based projects and activities, and exploring all the attractions at St. Louis Union Station.
Programs like camp are an important part of our mission and provide youth with the opportunity to discover marine animals and ecosystems that we don’t find here in the Midwest. We encourage campers to get curious, ask questions, and think critically. This style of teaching asks kids to make connections, recognize patterns, and understand the how and why behind the information they learn. In other words, we strive to create an environment where kids can begin to think like scientists!

We are grateful for the support of the Hunter Family Foundation and Blueprint4Summer for providing 42 free summer camp experiences for kids who otherwise would not be able to experience our camp!
The St. Louis Aquarium Foundation plans to develop more educational programs and partnerships in the near future. Be sure to follow us on Facebook to see announcements about future programs!
Thank you and farewell, Briana!
Briana served as our Water Education Development Coordinator through the
Stream Teams United AmeriCorps program.
The Aquarium Foundation would like to say a huge THANK YOU and bid farewell to our AmeriCorps Member, Briana Robles. Briana served as a full-time volunteer for the past year where she focused on building our organization’s capacity and connecting low-income youth to nature and water education. During her time with the Foundation, Briana has started a company-wide composting program, secured grants to help revamp our Rain Garden, organized our three part cleanup series “Revamp the Riverfront”, helped grow the impact of our H2O (Help To Our) Friends Program, and so much more! We are so grateful for all of the hard work she put into our organization and the development of our programs. The Foundation wishes Briana the best of luck as she ends her service and moves onto the next chapter of her career. Thank you!
Say SHELL-o to our
Newest Team Members!

We would like to o-FISH-ally welcome our new St. Louis Aquarium Foundation Team members! Take a look at their bios and read about why we are so excited to welcome them to our team!
Gail Weller, Development Manager
Gail was born and raised in St. Louis and has always been drawn to animals and the water. River Otters are one of her favorite animals and she is excited to now have several as “co-workers”! Gail has over a decade of professional experience in nonprofit development, working for various organizations serving youth and the elderly. In her free time, she enjoys reading, fitness, exploring new restaurants, spending time with family and friends, and vacations at the beach. Being a part of the mission of the St. Louis Aquarium Foundation and a vital city attraction is a dream come true!


Jenna Dietl, Americorps Member Water Education Development Coordinator
Jenna has joined the Aquarium Foundation team for one year as an AmeriCorps Member. As a full-time volunteer, she will help build our organization’s capacity and connect under-resourced youth to nature through water education programs. Jenna was born and raised in Washington, MO, and recently graduated from Webster University earning a Bachelor’s degree in International Human Rights and a Certificate in Japanese language. Jenna is passionate about serving her community and everyone in it. After traveling to Costa Rica and Ecuador in 2019 and 2022, Jenna learned through Indigenous teachings how-to live-in connection with nature. The two trips expanded her passion to work cleaning up her local watershed.  
St. Louis Aquarium Foundation | 314.923.3926 | info@stlaquariumfoundation.org