aMuze! & National Marine Sanctuary System

Washington DC
15 August 2008

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and aMuze! Interactive have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on the installation of aMuze! Interactive Knowledge Card Systems at National Marine Sanctuary visitor centers.

In its initial phase, the agreement calls for the aMuze! System to be installed at the National Aquarium in Washington DC and at the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument’s Mokupapapa Discovery Center on Hilo, Hawaii.

Goals of the installation include enabling visitors to extend and deepen their experience of the treasures of the National Marine Sanctuaries beyond their visit to a Sanctuary site, and to more easily gain access to and personalize the vast knowledge resources contained within the National Marine Sanctuary System. These active and participatory learning experiences will help the System to communicate the issues and challenges facing the Sanctuaries and the critical need for Ocean Literacy and Stewardship.

The National Marine Sanctuary Program is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Program was established in 1972, exactly one hundred years after the first national park was created, with a commitment to preserve the Nation’s marine treasures. Since then, thirteen national marine sanctuaries and one marine national monument, representing a wide variety of ocean environments, have been established.

Today, the National Marine Sanctuary System encompasses deep ocean gardens, near-shore coral reefs, whale migration corridors, deep sea canyons, and even underwater archeological sites. The sites range in size from one-quarter square mile in Fagatele Bay, American Samoa to more than 135,000 square miles in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the largest marine protected area in the world.

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, a private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, was created to assist the federally managed National Marine Sanctuary Program with education and outreach programs designed to preserve, protect and promote meaningful opportunities for public interaction with the Nation's marine sanctuaries.

Partner Opportunities:

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is committed to creating innovative partnerships to ensure that the public understands the need to preserve and protect the unique ecological and cultural resources found in the National Marine Sanctuary System. The collaboration between aMuze! and the Foundation offers highly visible, positive and innovative opportunities for Corporate Partners interested in associating and aligning their brands with the goals and audiences of this program.

For more information on Corporate Partnerships, please contact:

Joy Williams

Vice President and Chief Development Officer

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

T: (301) 608-3040 ext. 2

F: (301) 608-3044

M: joy [at] nmsfocean.org