Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium was pleased to recognize a room of over 220 local science and elementary teachers from Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties at its inaugural Toast to Teachers appreciation event on Friday, Oct. 6. Teachers spent the night gathered in Mote’s beautiful Courtyard and enjoyed complimentary cuisine, cocktails, dancing, raffle items, and entertainment, all generously donated by local businesses and community members. Mote’s Education Department provides STEM education through a wide variety of on-campus, regional outreach, and virtual education programs. Mote Education currently serves over 10,000 students through its community engagement with underserved and underrepresented youth. In total, Mote Education serves over 35,000 participants annually. Donations were also raised to benefit Mote Education with a total of $60,000 raised for the ‘Toast to Teachers’ Education fund, which provides local counties with access to Mote’s Education programs.Guests also heard the latest updates on the new Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA) and the science education programs that will be available once construction is completed.Mote SEA will provide informal science education and enhanced levels of ocean literacy to much larger and more diverse populations from around the world. Notably, Mote SEA will serve as a regional hub for expanding marine science and technology education and inspiration to every K-12 student in our community—Oceans for All. The new science-focused facility will provide informal science education to a larger, more diverse audience, including 70,000 students from Sarasota and Manatee County schools – free of charge. If you are interested in supporting Mote Education, please contact Andria Piekarz at apiekarz@mote.org.