Mote Science Café in Punta Gorda: Sense-ational Manatees

How do endangered manatees sense and navigate their underwater world? Find out on Wednesday, July 24, during Mote Marine Laboratory’s latest Science Café – an informal public forum that encourages community members to join conversations about the ocean, our connection to it and the science that helps us understand it.

The Café will feature Mote’s manatee research and training projects designed to reveal how these marine mammals use their senses, such as hearing and touch, to survive in underwater environments like Charlotte Harbor. The Café will feature Dr. Joe Gaspard, Manager of Animal Care, Training and Research at Mote, and his fellow staff members. Gaspard and his team lead cutting-edge sensory research with Mote’s resident manatees Hugh and Buffett, the most highly trained manatees in the world. 

Mote’s Science Café is not a place — it's a roving, community-based outreach program that harkens back to salons that explored the topics of the day during the 1920s. The Café invites the public to join the discussion.

The Café will start at 6:30 p.m. July 24 at River City Grill: The Tavern, 131 West Marion Avenue, Punta Gorda, FL 33980. Admission is free, but space is limited. Please RSVP to Mote at 941-205-3970, ext.103, and come early to get a good seat. Food and drink specials will be available.