Penguin power is paying off

Thanks to record-setting attendance at the S.C. Aquarium this year, the waterfront attraction plans to pay off its remaining debt by a January deadline and, even sooner, to hire two new employees to work with its animals.

Aquarium president and chief executive Kevin Mills called 2009, the year of the penguin, "a remarkably good year." Attendance exceeded projections by 6 percent for the first six months.

Nearly 22,000 more locals and 3,000 more tourists visited the aquarium than during same time in 2008. New memberships also grew by more than 30 percent over the same time last year, with nearly eight new members added each day.

Penguin Planet, an exhibit featuring four male warm-weather birds, opened in March.

"I think penguins certainly deserve the credit of sparking interest of people who haven't been to the aquarium in some time," Mills said.

The aquarium experienced record numbers for February and April and the strongest May and June in five years, according to attendance numbers. July historically marks the attraction's busiest month, and visitation already is looking up 4 percent this month.

Mills said the aquarium plans to hire a second sea turtle biologist to work at the in-house hospital. With the extra manpower, the aquarium's sell-out hospital tours could expand beyond the current three days a week.

The attraction also plans to hire a full-time employee to care for its reptiles and amphibians. Previously, the same staff members handled reptiles, amphibians and birds — even as the penguin push intensified.

The aquarium opened in 2000 with a $12 million debt and must pay off the remaining balance by the end of January. Although the aquarium experienced a shaky fall and employee pay cuts in the winter, Mills said finances should pose no problem now.

He said the attraction also looks ahead to focusing on a state-of-the-art animal hospital planned for the aquarium's first floor.

Though he would not reveal any details, Mills said the aquarium hopes to bring in a new attraction next year to follow the penguins, which likely will return to SeaWorld San Diego after a year.

Mills said future feature exhibits might diverge from the aquarium's all-local animal collection but, as with the penguins, would maintain the attraction's conservation mission.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com.