RFQ: Signage and Wayfinding Design Services
Corals are Animals, Not Plants
The MiaSci Sea Lab, an indoor/outdoor exhibit that gives visitors a taste of some of the exciting aquarium components being planned for the new Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, scheduled to open in Museum Park in 2014, now includes a Coral Aquaculture System. The aquaculture system is designed to grow coral colonies from fragments of existing corals donated to the Museum by members of the Florida Marine Aquarium Society. Each fragment is attached to a rock, which also bears the name of the person who donated it. Over time, the small coral fragments will grow into large corals, which will be transplanted to the coral reef exhibit in the new Museum.
Corals are marine organisms that live in colonies in shallow water. They are carnivorous invertebrates that feed on a number of small organisms, including plankton and small fish.
A coral aquaculture system is created to reproduce endangered coral and is often accomplished by marine aquarists through a process called fragmentation, or “fragging.” Special tools are used to cut fragments off of existing corals in aquaria, which are then glued to rocks or plugs and then placed in water. Over time, the fragments will grow and eventually cover the rock or plug they are glued to. Blue lights and circulating water stimulate growth of algae in the tissues of the coral.
“Coral aquaculture is important to maintain, sustain and help conserve endangered coral species,” said Skip Uricchio, MiaSci’s Aquarium Curator. “The coral fragment nursery will serve as a prototype for the Living Core exhibits in the new Museum and aims to educate and encourage visitor interest in the subject of our local environment. We are very pleased that so many local aquarists are contributing to this development.”
RFP: Subcontractors
The Miami Science Museum is a world-class, state-of-the-art, six story, 250,000 s.f. science and technology facility for education and tourism in Museum Park on the Miami waterfront, to include an approximately 20,000 s.f. aquarium, seeking minimum LEED Gold certification.
Suffolk Construction Company, Inc., the Construction Manager, is seeking competent and qualified Subcontractors for the purpose of providing construction services for the Miami Science Museum. This request for prequalification is being solicited by Suffolk Construction Company, Inc. on behalf of the Miami Science Museum. The selected Subcontractor will ultimately be under Subcontract with Suffolk Construction Company, Inc., who will oversee the entire construction of the Project in the role as Construction Manager. Click here for details: Request for Prequalification and Proposal
The Bid Manual will be released for review to the public, on or after October 3, 2011, and is intended to provide an overview of the project, demonstrate the minimum general requirements, and provide bidding documents and all relevant information and forms necessary for Subcontractors to become Prequalified and to Submit a Proposal for this project. Please refer to the Bid Packages Section of the Bid Manual to determine which Bid Packages are out for Bid at this time. Electronic Files of The Bid Manual and Bidding Documents may be obtained by replying to Suffolk Construction’s Invitation to Bid through our Project Document Manager Website, or by request via e-mail to the attention of Brett Porak at bporak@suffolkconstruction.com. Documents will also be made available McGraw Hill Dodge and Reed Construction Data, although you must confirm your intent to bid by response to the e-mail above. Hard copies of the documents will be made available through Reprographic Solutions at (561) 640-5450.
A qualification questionnaire is available via Suffolk’s PDM website. A request to receive a prequalification questionnaire should be sent in writing to Jessica Otto at jotto@suffolkconstruction.com. All contractors wishing to bid this project must be prequalified prior to submitting a bid.
Bidders are requested to direct all questions to Brett Porak, IN WRITING, at bporak@suffolkconstruction.com Suffolk Construction Company, Inc. Please do not contact the Owner, Architect or Engineer directly. A written response will be sent to all bidders via Addendum. The deadline for all RFIs is October 21, 2011.
Oh, Baby!
Recently, one of the Museum’s yellow stingrays gave birth to two healthy babies in the stingray touch tank!
The yellow stingray is a bottom-dwelling species that inhabits sandy, muddy or seagrass bottoms in shallow waters, often near coral reefs. During the day, yellow stingrays are relatively inactive and spend a lot of time buried under a thin layer of sediment. They feed on small invertebrates, shrimps, clams, worms and bony fishes.
In yellow stingrays, developing embryos are first sustained by yolk and later by histotroph (“uterine milk” rich in protein and lipids). Females bear two litters of up to seven young per year, following a gestation period of 5-6 months.
”These new stingray pups will help grow our animal collection for the new Museum using sustainable and responsible husbandry protocols such as allowing our animals to reproduce naturally,” said Skip Uricchio, MiaSci’s Aquarium Curator. “The stingrays will be raised to maturity in the tanks for the exhibits in the new Museum.”
Over the summer, the Museum opened its new exhibit, the Sea Lab, an indoor/outdoor attraction that gives visitors a taste of some of the exciting aquarium components being planned for the new Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, scheduled to open in Museum Park in 2014. Sea Lab tells the story of energy and carbon flows through a marine ecosystem, from photosynthesis and 
primary production in algae and seagrass, to the small creatures and grazers that feed on algae and plants, to the larger fish and top predators of the seagrass food chain, including stingrays.
Did you know? Yellow stingrays give birth twice a year, between June and September, and between November and January, usually in litters of 3 to 4.
Stop by the Museum soon to meet the two newest additions to the Sea Lab family!
MiaSci’s Fernando Bretos Awarded Kinship Conservation Fellowship
Fernando Bretos, Director of Miami Science Museum’s Reclamation Project and member of the new Museum team, was one of 17 individuals worldwide selected as a Kinship Conservation Fellow. Of the 2011 cohort, seven originate from the United States, and the remaining 11 are from Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Sierra Leone and Thailand. The 2011 cohort of Fellows took part in a month-long intensive learning program at the University of Western Washington in Bellingham, Washington. There they gained a broader understanding of how market-based tools can improve conservation practice globally. In short, Fellows learned how to put a value on highly exploited natural resources and create tradable markets for ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and habitat for wildlife.
“Kinship was an amazing experience for me as I learned how to integrate long-term financial sustainability with conservation goals related to my work in the wider Gulf of Mexico and Florida,” said Fernando. “I gained a heightened appreciation for the value of natural resources such as coral reefs, wetlands and clean water, and expertise in ensuring that conservation is funded in perpetuity.”
During the program at Kinship, Fellows also received training in the Adaptive Leadership framework and the use of strengths-based leadership techniques. Fellows investigated environmental issues of the Pacific Northwest through a visit to the North Cascades National Park and presentations by innovative local sustainable industries.
At the conclusion of the experience, Fellows presented individual projects to a peer audience to test newly introduced concepts and skills. Mr. Bretos presented a pilot study to establish conservation trusts through eco-tourism activities in the western Caribbean. This project will commence in October 2011.
“After my time with the 2011 cohort of Kinship Fellows, I am very excited about the future” said Kinship Conservation Fellows Director Jim Tolisano. “We live in a time of volatile financial markets and increasingly challenging environmental problems. But, the creativity, skills and passion that I encounter in people like Fernando Bretos convince me that we have a very promising future ahead of us, with some very exciting solutions in the works!”
To learn more about the Kinship Fellowship program, visit: http://kinshipfellows.org
A Grove of Mangroves
Living Core Rendering - New Museum
The MiaSci Sea Lab, an indoor/outdoor attraction that gives visitors a taste of some of the exciting aquarium components being planned for the new Museum, scheduled to open in Museum Park in 2014 (Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science), recently got some new inhabitants: native red and black mangroves. The mangrove nursery will serve as a prototype for the Living Core exhibits in the new Museum and aims to educate and encourage visitor interest in the subject of our local environment.
The mangrove trees were chosen from a nursery in Homestead, FL and were recently planted in the Sea Lab space. These mangrove trees will grow at the current location over the next few years and will eventually be moved to the new Museum. “The mangrove nursery will utilize rainwater runoff and surplus purified water from the coral aquaculture systems to keep them in the optimum wet environment,” said Skip Uricchio, MiaSci’s Aquarium Curator. “It is always our goal to recycle and reuse our resources in the new exhibits here and at the new museum.”
Mangroves are extremely valuable for coastal ecosystems because their roots stabilize the shoreline, trap pollutants within their sediment and act as breeding grounds for juvenile fish.
Mangrove Nursery at MiaSci
Mangrove roots provide attachment surfaces for marine organisms such as barnacles and oysters and provide protected nursery areas for fish, crustaceans and shellfish. They also contribute to the food web, aiding in a multitude of marine species such as snook, snapper, tarpon, jack, oysters, crabs and shrimp. Animals find shelter in mangrove roots and branches, and the branches serve as rookeries (nesting areas) for coastal birds such as egrets, herons, brown pelicans and roseate spoonbills.
Florida’s estimated 400,000-500,000 acres of mangrove forests contribute to the overall environmental health of the state’s southern coasts. Without mangroves, many coastal fishing areas and habitats would deteriorate.
As many as 50 or more species of mangroves exist around the world. The Red Mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, is found closest to the water and is easily identified by its tangled, arching roots called “prop roots.” Red mangroves are also known as “walking trees” because they creep into new areas by branching roots.
The Black Mangrove, Avicennia germinans, often grows in shallow water and is easily identified by numerous finger-like projections called pneumatophores, that protrude from the soil around the tree’s trunk and help with root aeration and gas exchange.
Red Mangrove
Black Mangrove
