SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - The new Mote Science Education Aquarium opened its doors Monday to Mote Members as a trial run before the grand opening.

Elsa Dickens told ABC7 she decided to visit her grandfather at just the right time.

“I’ve been going to the original one since I was really little, so this was a tradition every time we come down to visit,” she said, “and finding out that there was a really big one being built and we asked to come see it, it was just huge.”

The vice president of Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, Kevin Cooper, says the mission is to inspire kids like Elsa.

“The first thing they see when they walk in is one of our three state-of-the-art STEM teaching labs,” he said.

“We’ve established a partnership with Sarasota and Manatee county schools where we will be we

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