Michael Vittum to Manage New Touch Tank and Other Aquarium Environments
February 5, 2025 – Blue Hill, Maine – The Shaw Institute, a nonprofit scientific research organization, is expanding their staff with the addition of Michael (Mikey) Vittum as Lead Aquarist at their Environmental Education Center in downtown Blue Hill, Maine.
Vittum, a graduate of Landmark College, where he studied Environmental Biology, joins the Shaw Institute with a background that includes serving in a similar capacity for the Oceanarium in Bar Harbor, Maine; in addition to time working with the Maine Audubon Society, C.L.A.W.S, and Birdsacre Sanctuary.
“It’s been so great to have Mikey on our team,” says Dr. Charlie Rolsky, the Institute’s Executive Director and Lead Science Researcher. “His leadership has allowed us to start building our hands-on marine education program, taking our efforts there to the next level and beyond as we expand our programs that allow us to engage more with our community.”
Growing up in coastal Downeast Maine, Mikey developed a deep passion for the ocean and its many inhabitants.
“I used this love for wildlife to steer myself towards receiving my education at Landmark College, where I studied wildlife populations in a previously unexplored region of Botswana,” said Vittum. “It’s a true honor to bring my 20-plus years of caring for and studying wildlife to the Shaw Institute, where I look forward to bringing a better understanding of our natural world to our region’s visitors and local residents alike.”
Vittum will be tasked with setting up and maintaining the Institute’s aquariums – including its new and soon-to-launch 175-gallon touch tank – in addition to assisting with research and other projects.
For more information on the Shaw Institute, please visit ShawInstitute.org.
About Shaw Institute
Shaw Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit scientific research organization based in Blue Hill, Maine. Established nearly 35 years ago, the Institute’s mission is to work to discover and expose environmental threats to the health and wellbeing of people, wildlife and the environments we share. Our research on plastics, ocean pollution, marine mammal health, toxic chemicals, and climate change has informed public opinion and influenced public policy, impacting millions of people in Maine, the U.S. and worldwide.
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Tod Hardin
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Shaw Institute
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