Under Secretary Gray Presents Learning Center Designation to Iowa Museum and Aquarium

The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium (NMRMA) in Dubuque, Iowa, has been designated as the United States’ 16th Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center. This highly prestigious national designation was presented on June 25 to the Aquarium by R. Mack Gray, Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Other dignitaries in attendance included Dubuque Mayor Terry Dugan, Jeffrey Vonk, Director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle.

Deputy Under Secretary Gray welcomed the NMRMA to the Learning Center network, stating “Nationally, the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center Network touches more than 20 million people annually. Working together, the federal government and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium will partner to reach more people and more effectively educate the public than either group could do alone.”

The Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center network was established in 1996 by Coastal America, an interagency federal partnership that works across a range of federal partners to protect, preserve, and restore the nation’s coastal ecosystems. The Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality chairs the Coastal America Partnership. The Learning Centers are selected to serve as regional educational centers working closely with the federal partners to educate the public about the value of coastal resources. The NNRMA worked closely with Coastal America to receive the official designation.

“We are incredibly pleased to participate in this prestigious network of aquariums and museums across the country," stated Jerry Enzler, Executive Director of the NMRMA. “The federal partnership provides valuable resources to our efforts to educate and inform the public about the history and ecological importance of the Mississippi River region."

Becoming a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center offers a wide variety of resources to the NMRMA, including expert speakers on specific programs and topics, educational publications, lesson plans, exhibit films and more. This designation is especially prestigious for NMRMA because it is the first inland facility to become a Learning Center—all of the existing Learning Centers are located directly on the coast.