The Place

This is not just a pretty river.

The Thousand Islands region is where the St. Lawrence River narrows. Freshwater draining from the greatest lake system on Earth accelerates through a granite corridor that is over a billion years old. The Frontenac Arch — recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve — is the last remaining intact forest corridor in eastern North America. Five distinct forest systems converge here as they do nowhere else on Earth. The Haudenosaunee describe it as the backbone of the mother: the ancient granite that holds the eastern continent together.

The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence basin holds approximately 20 percent of the world's surface freshwater and provides drinking water to more than 40 million people. The St. Lawrence Seaway moves tens of millions of tonnes of cargo annually — Prairie grain, iron ore, salt, petroleum — connecting North American industry to global markets. This corridor is, at once, one of the world's most important ecological systems and one of its most critical economic arteries.

Aquatarium sits at the gateway to all of it.

Conservation

Not symbolism. Practice.

Aquatarium manages eight North American river otters — one of the largest populations under a single Canadian zoo authority — in an active national breeding program. River otters are sentinel species: their presence in a watershed is one of the best available indicators of overall ecosystem health. When otters thrive, the river is working.

The otter that was once a trade commodity — trapped to the edge of regional elimination along these very waterways during the fur trade — is now a conservation ambassador. That arc from exploitation to stewardship is Canada's ecological story in miniature. We tell it every day.

Exhibit Renewal

Build the experiences that change how children see the world.

Our exhibits are where learning becomes real. Interactive, immersive, and rooted in the living systems of the St. Lawrence, they are the reason families drive two hours and school groups fill 82 buses. Three transformative projects are ready to be built.

Schools

The bus is the barrier.

In 2025, 3,259 students arrived at Aquatarium on 82 school buses — from rural communities and small towns across Eastern Ontario, many of them with few cultural or scientific institutions anywhere near where they live. For a significant number of those students, it was their first visit to a professional science institution.

That number should be higher. And the barriers getting in the way are well known.

Transportation costs have risen sharply, and school boards facing tighter budgets are cutting field trips to manage the gap. Bus shortages across Ontario have made booking harder and more expensive than ever. For rural schools especially, a trip to Aquatarium isn't just a longer drive — it's a logistics challenge that many teachers and administrators quietly give up on before they even try.

This matters because field trips are not extras. Research consistently shows that experiential, out-of-classroom learning deepens understanding, builds engagement, and creates lasting connections to subjects that textbooks can't reach. For rural students with fewer cultural institutions nearby, a single field trip to a place like Aquatarium can be the moment that changes how a child sees science, nature, and their own place in the watershed they live beside.

A $500 gift covers a bus. A $500 gift covers a classroom. Either way, it means a teacher who can say yes — and students who get to show up.

By the Numbers — 2025

A proven institution delivering results.

General admission figures reflect paid admissions only. Total annual visitors — including program participants, camp attendees, event guests, and community visits — exceed 60,000.

Funding Comparison

We do more with less than almost anyone.

Across the Canadian heritage sector — museums, science centres, galleries, and cultural institutions — government funding typically accounts for more than 50% of total operating revenue. The national average sits well above half. Aquatarium operates on 17%.

That gap is not a vulnerability. It is a demonstration of what this institution is built on — earned revenue, community trust, and a product people believe in enough to pay for. Your investment goes further here than almost anywhere else in the sector.

Community & Civic Partners

Organizations that believe in this work.

Corporate & Business Supporters

The businesses that believe in this work.

Supporter Recognition

In their own words.

These organizations and individuals have chosen to invest in Aquatarium — in its mission, its community, and the river it protects. We are grateful for their trust and their partnership.

Become a Partner

Align your organization with something that matters.

In a corporate landscape where every sponsorship is scrutinized for authenticity, aligning with Aquatarium is not a branding play. It is a statement of genuine values — a signal to employees, customers, and the community that you invest in the long-term health of the region where you operate.

We offer a range of partnership and sponsorship opportunities across programs, events, exhibits, and conservation. Contact us to discuss what alignment looks like for your organization.

Give Now

Your gift. Your impact.

Every campaign below goes directly to a specific program or project. Choose what matters most to you.

Major Gifts

Ready to make a larger investment?

We welcome conversations about major gifts, naming opportunities, and multi-year commitments. Every significant gift to Aquatarium is structured personally — based on your interests, your timeline, and what you want to put your name beside.

Corporate Giving

Sponsorship packages for every level of engagement.

Aquatarium is a registered Canadian charity. Charitable registration number: 119219986RR0001. Official tax receipts issued for eligible donations.

Our Story

Built at the intersection of ecology, history, and civic life.

Aquatarium sits on the Brockville waterfront, beside the St. Lawrence River, at the gateway to the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve — UNESCO-designated, ecologically irreplaceable, and the most biodiverse landscape in Canada. We are a registered Canadian charity and licensed zoo, operating under regulated professional standards with legal and ethical obligations to the animals in our care and the community we serve.

We exist because the river that runs outside our front door is one of the most important freshwater systems on Earth — and because understanding it, protecting it, and teaching others to value it is work that matters now more than ever.

What It Means to Be a Licensed Zoo

Not a designation. A commitment.

Being a licensed zoo means operating under regulated professional standards monitored and enforced by governing bodies. It means veterinary oversight, habitat design standards, animal care protocols, and conservation responsibilities that go beyond what most visitors ever see. We do not display animals. We care for them — and we use that care as a window into a world most visitors would never otherwise access.

Transparency & Accountability

Our finances are an open book.

Aquatarium is a registered Canadian charity operating in the public trust. We publish our financial statements and make them available to donors, partners, and the community. If you have questions about our financials, our board is happy to speak with you directly.

Questions about our finances? Contact us at (613) 342-2869 or aquatarium.ca. Our board treasurer is available to speak with major donors and prospective partners.

The Vision

Not playground equipment. A permanent exhibit.

Why the Fishbone Climber. Why Now.

Aquatarium is growing — and growing institutions make deliberate choices about where to invest next.

World-class artistry, engineered for play. Custom-designed and built to exist nowhere else on earth — this is the kind of installation you'd expect to find in a major metropolitan science centre. It will be here, on the Brockville waterfront, as a showpiece for a facility that has never settled for anything less.

About the Designer

Built by the people who define this category.

Luckey Climbers specializes in custom-designed, sculptural climbing structures for museums, zoos, aquariums, science centres, and family entertainment venues. Founded by artist and sculptor David Luckey, the company builds fully sculpted, three-dimensional environments that integrate with each facility's mission and storytelling.

Rather than producing standardized climbing walls, Luckey designs architecturally significant structures that function as both play experiences and visual centrepieces. Their installations are engineered for high throughput, meet ASTM and international safety standards, and are built to last decades. The Fishbone Climber is custom-designed for Aquatarium's space, dimensions, and river ecology theme — it will exist nowhere else on earth.

The Story

He started in a bathtub. Now he stops people in their tracks.

Why It Matters

Beavers are not background animals. They are engineers of the watershed.

The Ship

She vanished in 1780. She lives again in Brockville.

Proof of Concept

We installed a temporary version for one week. We still haven't taken it down.

Naming Opportunity

Sponsor The Captain's Challenge.