Bay Education Center to reopen nearly four years after damage from Hurricane Harvey

ROCKPORT — The staff at the Bay Education Center has spent almost four years counting the days.

On May 8, they will finally be able to stop counting. 

After nearly four years of repairs, the center is reopening its doors to the public with new exhibits Saturday for the first time since Hurricane Harvey.

“It feels great,” said Sally Palmer, the communications coordinator for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. “It just feels nice to have this completed and be back in the community.” 

The center suffered damage from Hurricane Harvey and was forced to build new exhibits after completing repairs to the walls, roof, floors and windows. 

Education:Windsor Park Elementary recognized as top in nation for computer science competition

When it came time to assess the damage, the staff thought it was reasonable to question the future of the center. 

“We definitely had the thoughts of ‘will it be the same’ or ‘will we ever open again,'” Palmer said. “The city of Rockport had so many of its facilities damaged and everybody’s resources were spread very, very thin. We didn’t know what was going to happen with insurance so we were really concerned that we wouldn’t be able to open, but we were fortunate that we do have this opportunity.” 

Del Mar College:Rural high school students with eyes on health science careers honored

The center received support and funding for the repairs from the Aransas County Navigation District, City of Rockport, Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the University of Texas  Marine Science Institute.

More:Vote to name the Texas State Aquarium the No. 1 aquarium in the country

In the fall of 2019, the center did reopen with a temporary exhibit. However, it closed down just a month after reopening. 

“We had a temporary display up and then the pandemic hit,” Palmer said. “Our permanent exhibits were not installed yet, so we took the pandemic time to redo our exhibits and get those installed.”   

For the past few years, the center had plans to eventually improve its exhibits and create a more immersive experience for children. Although the hurricane damage brought a lot of downsides, the need to repair did give the center a chance to start fresh and make some of the changes they had planned.

“We learned a lot from what we did before,” Palmer said. “Before, we had too much text. We were able to upgrade what did before and kind of learn from what people liked and didn’t like.”

When planning the new exhibits, the center made sure to include the R/V Longhorn, an area for children to learn about the different types of fish and how to tie survival knots. 

While the center may seem a little bit different than before, the staff was able to save some of the original pieces that survived the hurricane.

“We were able to salvage some of the more expensive pieces,” Palmer said. “The center does look very different than it did before the hurricane.”

Starting Saturday, the center will be open every Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is free, masks are required and guests will be asked to complete a COVID-19 symptom screen.

Christopher Howley covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Support more coverage like this at Caller.com/subscribe.