The Museum emerged as a leading cultural organization in the community, providing educational programs and field trips to tens of thousands of students through the years.

[1] Having outgrown its space at the pier, construction started on a new facility at the present location which would include a larger aquarium pool as well as a Spanish Courtyard and planetarium.

After a significant grant from the federal government and support from the community, a new state-of-the-art planetarium and theatre opened in 2005.

In the 1930s, Matthew Stirling, the director of the Smithsonian's archeological digs in Florida, became Tallant's friend and mentor.

While popular with locals, the museum failed to attract tourists, especially during the World War II when tourism in Florida dropped drastically.

[3] The cost of maintaining the collection and the space, combined with Tallant's interest in future projects, lead him to entertain purchase offers in the late 1940s.

It is impossible to determine the exact number of Florida sites investigated by Tallant, but it is estimated to be at least 169, most of these in the southern part of the state.

Coincidentally, Mrs. Bishop, who had been ill and who chronically shunned publicity, did not attend the Planetarium's dedication but was represented by her niece, Mary Parker for whom the Museum's aquarium would be named some 30 years later.

The Planetarium's concrete dome and lack of windows helped to keep the fire contained to the north wing, sparing the cultural and natural history collections in the main museum, but it also turned the Planetarium into a kiln, gutting the theater and its projection equipment.

The events of 9/11 and Tropical Storm Gabrielle impeded recovery efforts, and the Museum did not reopen to the public until September 23.

Sugg linked his work with the annual De Soto celebration with his plans for the Museum's Spanish Courtyard.

The size and depth seemed to baffle Snooty when he was first placed into his new home since he had previously lived his whole life in smaller accommodations.

The main pool offers both shallow and deep water so that resident manatees can engage in a wider variety of natural social and feeding behaviors.

The younger and smaller manatees were able to go in and out of the area, but due to Snooty's size, he could not return through the hatch to access air.

[11] After an investigation into the death, South Florida Museum stated that manatee staff knew that a panel leading to the compartment where Snooty drowned was askew or missing screws, but because of failures in record keeping, reporting, communications and follow-through, no action was taken and no repairs were made.

They also confirmed that Marilyn Margold the Director of Living Collections at the time no longer works at the museum.