Dickinson College reef aquarium

[pixburg-reefer]

Hi Everyone,

Many of you haven't seen me for a while. I went to Penn State to do some aquarium research, and then moved straight to college...so I haven't been to a meeting for a while.

I am taking on the task of developing, building, and creating a large reef aquarium where I attend at Dickinson College. I want to use it for research purposes and as learning aids for biology and chemistry classes, along with a way to interact with the community and interest surrounding elementary schools and students.

I have a scheduled meeting with the president of our college on Tuesday December 11th, to discuss how it can become a reality. I know it will be up to me to do most of the fund raising.

Does anyone have any ideas of who to contact, companies that have donated or participated in supporting college endeavors like this in the past? I'm coming up with a budget and trying to gather my own fund raising ideas, and didn't know if any of you could help? The aquarium in mind would be rather large, if possible to fit 500 or so gallons. I haven't even put an estimate together but I'm guessing around $40,000 to incorporate the tank into the building, and to get everything set up and the ball rolling.

Any little bit of help or opinion would be appreciated Any ideas of who would be willing to donate, companies, people, or who would be willing to participate in the development of, would be great help to me.

Thanks everyone,

Kelly

 

[BeanAnimal]

Kelly,

A good start would be using the schools letterhead to solicit donations from the industry. You may also want to contact Zooqi for ideas, as he has done many such projects. Sanjay may be another great resource for information on how to get help from the industry and academic community.