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NEW FROM
THE ECHO BLOG |
LIFE SAVING CATERPILLAR GUTS |
POSTED AUGUST 7, 2010
AT 3:49 PM |
Many unknowns in the natural world have potential… |
READ MORE + |
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ABOUT
ECHO |
ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, educates and delights people about the
Ecology, Culture, History, and
Opportunity for stewardship of the Lake Champlain Basin. |
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
We are committed to the highest scientific integrity in
everything we say and do. We are not an advocacy organization,
but rather one that presents facts and ideas from a neutral and
unbiased perspective, allowing individuals to learn and develop
their own positions. The goal is to allow individuals to develop
informed and educated decisions, thereby creating a better
future for the Lake and the Basin.
ECHO NAME
The Lake Champlain Basin Science Center was rebuilt and
renamed in 2003 to ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, at the
Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. The new name is both an acronym
reflecting our core mission and vision, as well as recognizing
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and his wife, Marcelle, for their
longstanding commitment to this project and the stewardship of
Lake Champlain and its watershed.
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ECHO VISION
Ecology
All people, animals, plants, and organisms in the Basin are
interrelated and connected to each other and to their
environments. Environmental science remains at the core of our
exhibits, programs, and activities.
Culture
Human knowledge, beliefs, and behavior are profoundly affected
by the surroundings, and likewise our behaviors affect our
environs. Continued growth and progress in improving our
environment comes from lifelong learning at all levels.
History
We gain knowledge from sharing, recording, and explaining
important events from our past. Decisions today should be made
with the advantage of knowledge of the events and decisions of
the past. What has happened in the past echoes to the present
and to our future.
Opportunity
We have a responsibility to learn from the past and project a
vision of a future that invites us to improve the Basin we live
in through individual and collective environmental stewardship.
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EXHIBITS
Boston-based exhibit designer Amaze Design, Inc. originally
developed the ECHO experience, which interprets the
ecological, geological, biological, and cultural history of
the Lake Champlain Basin. Permanent exhibits include the
multimedia Awesome Forces
Theater, a water-play space for kids to build dams and
float boats, and an Atlantic tide pool touch tank with
Periwinkle snails, Horseshoe crabs, Sea stars, Anemones, and
Urchins. Young visitors may enjoy the working miniature
lighthouse or pop in on a Painted turtle in Discovery Place,
while other kids may control a high-tech underwater
adventure as they get a glimpse of the replica historic
General Butler shipwreck. More recent permanent exhibits
include INDIGENOUS
EXPRESSIONS: Native Peoples of the Lake Champlain Basin, Be
a Watershed Basin Reporter TV studio,
FrogWorld, and
the Beluga Whale Dig.
From Abenaki storytelling to the dynamics of Lake
Champlain's underwater wave, the ECHO adventure immerses
guests in the sights, sounds, smells,
and feel
of past and present life in the Basin. Major
changing exhibits are
showcased in the exhibit space several times a year. |
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COMMUNITY RESOURCE
As a community resource, ECHO
offers exceptional meeting, conference, and recreation
spaces. A second story balcony with beautiful views of the
Lake, multiple meeting rooms next to the live animal
exhibitions, and our ecology-themed
Think! Café are available
for a wide range of public or private social and business
functions before, during, and after hours. Outdoor spaces,
as extensions of the Burlington Waterfront Park, also
provide options for community events.
FOUNDING CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
ECHO was built thanks to a capital
campaign that was 10 years in the making. Under the
leadership of Board Chair Sarah Muyskens and Capital
Campaign Co-Chairs George E. Little, Jr., and Daniel Feeney,
the organization raised $14.5 million and the current
building opened in 2003. Approximately half of the funds
came from the federal government through the efforts of
Senator Patrick Leahy. Leadership gifts included a $2.5
million gift from J. Warren and Lois McClure, two anonymous
gifts, and a significant donation by Bob and Cynthia Hoehl.
The remaining funds were generously contributed by
individuals, foundations and businesses throughout the
Basin. Check out our donor wall in the ECHO lobby for a
complete list of all of the donors who made this vision a
reality!
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1.802.864.1848
