Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary August Recap

Gray's Reef Ocean Discovery Center Welcomes New Exhibits

After over a year of patience and anticipation, the Gray’s Reef Ocean Discovery Center’s brand new interpretive exhibits arrived in late August. Our team has worked closely with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and the contractor, Universal Services Associates (USA) Inc to bring the sanctuary to visitors and locals of Savannah, Georgia. In 2023 through our partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, we invested in new and immersive exhibits for the center. The exhibits were designed and fabricated in early 2025 and are currently being installed with a grand reopening date set for October 18th, 2025. We have been eagerly anticipating this grand reopening of the Ocean Discovery Center with these new exhibits. We are excited and remain committed to fostering a deeper understanding of our ocean, inspiring a sense of stewardship, and nurturing a community that actively participates in the protection of our precious marine ecosystems.

Sneak peak of the new exhibits at the Gray's Reef Ocean Discovery Center. Photo by Elliott Lam/NOAA

Enmarket Arena Prepares the Ocean Discovery Center for New Exhibits!

Mid-August was all hands on deck! Local organization, Enmarket Arena, joined the Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary staff as we prepared the Ocean Discovery Center for its makeover. Enmarket Arena volunteers played a massive role in removing all of the old exhibits and furniture to make way for our brand new exhibits. The team was enthusiastic and worked diligently. Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary is extremely grateful for the support of Enmarket Arena in preparing our visitor center for its next stage. Working with local organizations like Enmarket is a vital part of expanding knowledge and awareness of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Through these relationships, we empower our community to foster stewardship for their sanctuary, city, and community. 

Enmarket Arena joins Gray's Reef to make room for new exhibts at the Gray's Reef Ocean Discovery Center. Photo by Danielle Oxman/NOAA

Super Sanctuary Summer Comes to an End

Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Discovery Center (ODC) officially wrapped up its Super Sanctuary Summer initiative! Beginning the week of June 10th and ending August 15th, the staff of the ODC hosted unique activities, classes, talks, and more. Throughout this time, the ODC was a platform for six different guest speakers and partner organizations, hosted 40 unique activities, and welcomed 591 guests to its super sanctuary programming. 

Each week was themed differently, beginning with wetlands and ending with human connections to your national marine sanctuary. Some staff favorites included microplastics lab, a magnetic best practices fishing game, plankton races, live plankton exploration with a local scientist, touch tanks from a local aquarium, and a life-sized sea turtle board game! We will be closed until October 18th while we install the new exhibits. We are so excited to see what the future of the ODC holds for the community of Savannah! 

Visitors played a life-sized boardgame depicting the life-cycle of a loggerhead sea turtle. Photo by Danielle Oxman/NOAA

Local partners from University of Georgia Marine Extension Aquarium visited the Discovery Center with a touch tank experience. Photo by Mary Quinn/NOAA

Upcoming Events with Gray's Reef

Gray's Reef Ocean Discovery Center is Getting a Makeover: August 18th - October 18th

Beginning on August 18th, the Gray's Reef Ocean Discovery Center located in downtown Savannah, GA is temporarily closed to get brand new exhibits installed! We are so excited for these renovations, and will be posting sneak peaks and reopening updates on our website and social media. We hope to see you at our grand reopening on October 18th, 2025! 

Find Gray's Reef at the Savannah Business Expo: September 25th

Join Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary and Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation at the Kehoe Ironworks Building on Thursday, September 25th, for the 2025 Chamber Business Expo and Business Connection. This event brings together over 800 community partners for an afternoon dedicated to showcasing local organizations. Our team will have a booth with information on the sanctuary, our visitor center, volunteer and education opportunities, and even a virtual dive experience!

Skidaway Marine Science Day: October 11th

Join Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, and UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography for a can't miss event for all ages! Skidaway Marine Science day will be on October 11th from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on the UGA Skidaway Marine Science Campus. Take a dock-side tour of our 52-foot Research Vessel (R/V) Gannet and check out our table along with other vendors for a variety of exhibits and hands-on activities.

Grand Reopening of the Gray's Reef Ocean Discovery Center: October 18th

We invite you to celebrate the Grand Reopening of the Ocean Discovery Center's newly reimagined, museum quality exhibits with an exciting, family-friendly block party in the heart of downtown Savannah! Join us and local partners to enjoy a day of hands-on activities, food, and music as we unveil our new exhibits! This event is free and open to the public. The event will begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. The Gray's Reef Ocean Discovery Center is located at 340 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Savannah, GA.

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