The Venice Oceanarium is a museum without walls. It hosts events on the beach and pier of Venice, California. Its mission is to impart a better understanding of the ocean and the life within it, and in so doing, to lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.
In 1995, Tim Rudnick conceived of the idea of a museum without walls and founded the Oceanarium, with the intention of using both the arts and the sciences to celebrate the unique nature of the surrounding Venice Beach area. Tim operated the Oceanarium on a shoestring budget as a labor of love for over 15 years before applying for nonprofit status. Since February, 2009, the Oceanarium has been operating as a 501(c)(3) organization.
One of the first programs organized was a 30-hour reading of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick at the Venice breakwater. The reading supported the idea of an original format emphasizing activities on the beach. Following the guiding principle that the ocean does just fine out of doors, the Oceanarium turned this reading into an annual event and added other ocean themed readings, including John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row and William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The LA Weekly included the readings in their 50 Best Things to Do in LA.
Other activities grew from there. An annual grunion party introduced the local community and the professional museum world to the fact that Venice has a robust population of grunion, a unique species of fish known for their unusual mating ritual. The Oceanarium’s grunion parties have become a tradition in Venice each year, attracting crowds upwards of 3000.
Since 1992 the Oceanarium has been conducting classes for after-school programs at Recreation and Park Community Centers, Mark Twain Middle School, Westminster Elementary and at other public and private schools in Venice and throughout Los Angeles.
Eight years ago, the Oceanarium launched a program at the Venice Pier to educate and inspire the public about the ocean. Using microscopes, telescopes, dried and bottled specimens, shark jaws, dried crabs, fish and more, the Oceanarium is out on the Pier every Sunday. It also posts poetic placards along the Venice Fishing Pier rail with poems and prose from Shakespeare, Neruda, Steinbeck, Melville and others. These placards are viewed as the visitor walks down the pier promenade and serve to inspire deeper appreciation for the ocean environment. All of these events and displays are free to the public.
The history of the Oceanarium is one of expansion. It has grown from a small group of supporters and participants to groups of 1000s.
Now it is time to expand further.
The Venice Oceanarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.