Imagining a Future Visitor Center in Galveston

Photo credit: Taylor Galaviz/NOAA.

From June 22-24, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary staff Taylor Galaviz and Friends of Flower Garden Banks Interim Executive Director Sandra Metoyer joined NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries headquarters staff Kate Thompson and Dayna McLaughlin for a visit to two California sanctuary visitor centers.

Left photo credit: Justin Holl/NOAA

Right photo credit: Expressive Photographics

The group visited the Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Visitor Center in San Francisco and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s Sanctuary Exploration Center in Santa Cruz. The visits offered an opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from other sanctuary teams, and see firsthand how visitor centers can connect communities with their national marine sanctuaries.

The trip comes as Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and the Friends of Flower Garden Banks look toward opening a visitor center in Galveston, Texas, one day. As that vision continues to take shape, learning from the experiences of other sanctuary sites will help inform what a future Galveston center could look like and how it could serve the community.

Thank you to Justin Holl, Jenny Stock, Brian Johnson, Dawn Hayes, and Amity Wood for sharing their time, knowledge, and experiences with the team. These connections are an important part of building momentum for a future visitor center and strengthening collaboration across the National Marine Sanctuary System.

Content for this article was provided by Taylor Galaviz/NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.