"Together, we have the power to inspire, connect, and deliver on new opportunities and rich experiences that can open doors to innovation and progress while growing global economies and increasing well-being."
Tae Yoo
The Mission Statement of the Rockford Aquarium is
“To establish and maintain a public aquarium in the Rockford, Illinois area for the betterment of our community with a focus toward educating children and adults to the wonders and sustainment of our watersheds, rivers, oceans and the life within.”
As we embark on the process of considering and envisioning our future, the analysis and assessment seek to provide insight and inspiration for the community, investors, members, supporters, and future guests.
We will each need to examine the strengths we see in this project, the opportunities inherent in those capacities, our aspirations for the future, and the bold results we can imagine for our efforts.
2022 is a time of profound change in society and educational opportunities. With demographic shifts changing society, climate change, and technological innovations reshaping the world of public aquariums, like our museums, and public zoos, we need to be a leader in environmental understanding, educational leadership, and conservation. In addition, we will develop and create new pathways for entertaining and educating visitors as we present to the public we serve. We will use the visionary Walt Disney’s Term, ‘Edutainment.’
Perhaps most importantly, today’s primary and secondary students will be tomorrow’s undergraduate and graduate students, and their needs will likely differ significantly from the students of today and yesterday.
How will they learn most successfully? What subjects will captivate their mind and ignite their imaginations? What training, preparation, or research will they need to succeed in their careers and lead our society in the latter half of this millennium? Unfortunately, we cannot assume that the formulas of the recent past that may have worked well will work well in the foreseeable future.
The aspirations and vision that we have set as our true north convey the possible futures we envision for the Rockford Aquarium.
We will reimagine new learning outcomes to focus on community and visitor benefits, closely aligning learning and research with conservational problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
We predict that the aquarium is a source of quality entertainment, exhibiting a variety of marine species that patrons and guests alike will not otherwise be able to see, through creating a unique and memorable experience.
We envision that the public aquarium is not just a source of entertainment for its visitors but also a vehicle for general education and research about aquatic environments, directly and indirectly stimulating the desire to preserve these environments.
The newly built aquarium will have a massive and substantial economic impact. Whether the aquarium will be built from the ground up or the restoration of an existing space, the economic impact would be significant. The aquarium will put hundreds of thousands of dollars in the pockets of local construction firms employing a multitude of different trades. In addition, the aquarium would use operations and administrative staff year-round.
Through our vision of qualitative assessment of Economic Impacts, we envision that the aquarium will have a lasting impact on the area.
It will support the expansion of the regional tourism economy and infrastructure. It will create a new, high-quality visitor attraction in the Rock River Valley while bringing additional tourists to the community.
We envision that we will influence the travel behaviors of visitors by encouraging additional spending at local businesses and attractions, extending stays in the community, and encouraging repeat visitation and trips to the community.
We envision that the aquarium will be another new source of community pride and identity and enhance the region as a place to live, work and recreate, thus improving all aspects of the local economy and community.
