As the morning sun gently embraced the skyline of San Francisco, our team of volunteers from the Rotary Clubs of San Francisco and Fisherman’s Wharf, along with delegates from Catholic Charities, eagerly embarked on a journey to the Aquarium of the Bay Ecotarium. The Bay Ecotarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to enable conversations on climate resilience and ocean conservation globally, while inspiring actionable change locally by protection and preservation of the San Francisco Bay and its ecosystems.
We were greeted by Melissa, Bay Ecotarium Animal Care Manager who has worked there for the past 18 years. Melissa provided the 13 Rotarians (8 from our Club and 5 from the Fisherman’s Wharf Club) a complete tour of the facility from jelly fish to sharks and sturgeon to the playfulness of river otters.
This was all a precursor for what our Rotarians were called into action to do. We then went to the administrative office where attendees learned the history of and the technological advancement created by the 3D plates. Mayra Rivas, Bay Ecotarium Education Manager, showed slides from De Anza Community College and provided the historical perspective. She fielded many questions from our attendees with enthusiasm. We quickly learned that 3D imaging models can be used in the creation of body parts like a kidney or a missing limb or digit and the creation of objects such as a motorcycle and actual buildings.
Next, we heard from Patrick Doran, Bay Ecotarium's IT Director. Patrick and his team actually created the models used to produce 3D plates. Each plate contains a small facsimile of the sea animal, a brief description, and what the animal would typically eat in the environment. The text is in Braille and user friendly to visually impaired individuals. In addition, these plates were designed to provide tactile feedback. The objective of this work project was to enable visually impaired visitors through the magic of touch to experience sea life in perhaps a way never thought possible.
Everyone in the audience felt a sense of accomplishment for opening this door to the visually impaired. The morning concluded with a lunch to thank us for our work. During lunch, we listened to Paul Nakamoto, Bay Ecotarium Vice President of Guest Experiences. Paul spoke about the evolution of climate change, its impact to our Bay, and what plans are envisioned. He shared a model of what the future could hold for our City and for the Fisherman’s Wharf area. Paul also shared that the Bay Ecotarium is currently assisting with 16 projects around the world with ocean and earth conservation as the primary purposes.
It was a fun-packed, educational, and delightful three hours at the Aquarium of the Bay at Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39 for all who attended. We also discovered that some of our attendees had never been on our tour here before.
