With both state and federal designations as a manatee sanctuary, the Manatee Viewing Center’s mission is to educate the public about the Florida manatee and its habitat. During the center’s open season from November 1 to April 15, films, displays and other materials teach a regular influx of schoolchildren and other visitors about the life cycle of the manatee and the challenges it faces. Center volunteers and staff, many of them Tampa Electric retirees, answer questions and provide additional educational information.
The Manatee Viewing Center gets its name from the fact that it is located along the warm water discharge canal that lies between Big Bend Power Station and the center, where manatees gather when the temperature of bay water falls below 68 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to the manatee observation platforms, the center features a tidal walkway that takes visitors deep into a mangrove habitat. Hundreds of varieties of birds, fish and other animals thrive here, along with native coastal flora. Additionally, visitors can experience the manatee museum and watch films about the manatee, Big Bend Power Station and the history of Tampa Electric. The center also features a gift shop, the South Shore Café, and a Web camera that is operation during the center’s open season.
When Big Bend Power Station began producing power in 1970, it was a surprise to workers at the plant to see the manatees swimming into the canal in large numbers. Tampa Electric officials quickly realized the value the canal afforded the mammals, and, by 1986, the Florida legislature awarded the area official manatee sanctuary status. Federal status followed 16 years later. Since its inception, it has grown from a collection of observation platforms into its current 50-acre facility that has attracted more than 2.7 million visitors since it opened. The center set an attendance record of 417,000 visitors in its 2006-07 season. In conjunction with Tampa Electric’s Renewable Energy program, November 2006 saw the installation of a 40-panel, 700-watt solar array atop the center’s education building.
The Manatee Viewing Center is located at 6990 Dickman Road in Apollo Beach, Florida. You may make group reservations online and call the center’s automated line at 813-228-4289 for center information.
