
daily, except on some holidays, but extended hours on select dates can be found on the website.
CLEARWATER MARINE AQUARIUM HOURS HOW TO
For more information on how to do that, head to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium website.

The aquarium’s bottlenose and rough-toothed dolphin experiences are by appointment only, so visitors must call ahead or book their experience online. "I love what I do every day,” Rhieu said. The visit might result in a new passion and dream to one day become a marine biologist.

It's a chance to not only learn about the dolphins, but also to expand knowledge of Earth’s aquatic ecosystems. During its dolphin encounters and experiences, they get poolside with animal care specialists like Rhieu who will teach visitors each of the dolphins’ unique rescue stories. What makes the aquarium’s interactive program so unique for visitors is the devotion to conversation and education. That was six years ago, and since then, she's been working alongside the aquarium’s dolphins. “I ended up interning here and I learned how to care for these animals, and Clearwater Marine Aquarium actually remembered me and asked me to come back and interview for one of the positions,” Rhieu said. She eventually earned a degree in marine biology from the University of South Florida. She said she remembers visiting places like the Clearwater Marine Aquarium as a child and talking with animal care specialists, quickly learning that she wanted to follow in their footsteps. Rhieu grew up in Florida, so she was familiar with dolphins from a very young age. “I definitely feel like I am one of the few that had this childhood dream to do this and followed through with it," she said. Handy brings more than 15 years of leadership experience at the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in North America.He most recently worked as the institution’s president and chief operating officer. He previously served as president and COO of the Georgia Aquarium.

Working alongside a dedicated staff at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Rhieu helps rehabilitate and care for dolphins that can't be released back into the wild, something she said has always been her dream job. Florida’s Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) has announced Joe Handy as its new CEO. “Each dolphin is different so the amount we feed them pounds-wise is given to us by our vet staff," Rhieu said. Clearwater was also the rescue center that cared for Winter, the famous prosthetic-tailed rescue-dolphin who sadly passed away in 2021. The aquarium is home to Hope the dolphin who starred in the 2014 film Dolphin Tale 2.
