FEBRUARY 2018 | SARASOTA SCENE 91
One of the goals of Mote Marine Laboratory’s Education
Program, says Community Engagement Coordinator Elaina
Todd, is to share what they’re doing with the community
beyond the boundaries of their 10.5-acre base campus
and aquarium out on Ken Thompson Parkway that 200
staff members, including 30 Ph.D. scientists, call home.
At Mote, they believe that conservation begins with
education, and with their many programs, people are able
to “dive in and get your feet wet and your hearts inspired.”
Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Eugenie Clark and the initial
philanthropy of Anne and William Vanderbilt as well
as William R. Mote and many others, they’ve come a
long way since it all began as a tiny one-room building
exhibits throughout Sarasota County, the Keys, and Boca
Grande. As Todd says, “We want to bring Mote to people
who haven’t had an opportunity to experience what
we do and learn about our research.” To that end, they
work with a host of local schools, after school programs,
and community partners to better reach underserved
populations. “From guppies to adults,” she explains.
While the primary target demographic is K-12, they also
offer some early childhood education and adult education
with an emphasis on adults with special needs. This
past year alone, Mote’s Education Program engaged
with close to 10,000 participants. Many of those come
from supplemental STEM programming with existing
organizations, such as Boys & Girls Clubs in both Sarasota
and Manatee counties, Girls Inc, Just for Girls, AMIkids,
and numerous YMCA locations.
One particularly successful partnership is at the Robert
L. Taylor Community Complex, where they work with—
among other groups—HARD:NOC, a unique teen
program that invites 13-15 year olds to participate in an
8-month comprehensive program where they receive
mentoring, academic support, life skills training and more.
Since 2015, Mote has been helping programs like this at
the community complex get
lot of the kids we’ve seen there
keep coming back,” says Todd.
“They remember what we’ve
taught before. They retain it
because it’s fun and exciting.”
Mote works directly with
schools, too, such as the Triad
Alternative School, which is
part of the YMCA in Sarasota.
It’s a place where kids who
haven’t been successful in
traditional schools can get back
on track with their education.
As part of their science
curriculum, a group of students
comes out to Mote each month
for a guided tour, where they
engage in a lab activity or help
One of the challenges of
serving so many different
populations and meeting
their various needs is that
Todd and the rest of the Mote
education team want there to
be personalization with each
partner. The cookie-cutter
this-is-what-you-get approach
isn’t the goal here. The Mote
Education MATTERS
By Ryan G. Van Cleave
team has found that it’s not
what makes learning fun or
memorable. “We strive to reach
out to students wherever they are
and help make science matter.”
Keeping it fresh, real, and
relevant isn’t always easy when
you have 40+ different locations
to work with, but passion and
philanthropic support make it
possible.
When Todd started working
at Mote three years ago, she
more or less had to run the
Community Engagement
Program by herself (along with
volunteer assistance). These
days, she has the help of two
full-timers, Kayla Keyes and
Alison Goldy, and the way things
are trending, they’ll need more
help in 2018 in addition to the
valuable efforts of an incredible
volunteer support staff. Together,
Todd and her colleagues do
weekend onsite work, evening
events, and regular-businesshours
programs as well. “It’s
a crazy schedule sometimes,”
Todd admits, “but it’s worth it.
The kids are so enthusiastic.”
on the town
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS
AT MOTE MARINE LABORATORY