b'TEXAS STATE AQUARIUM NOW AMONG BEST IN U.S.After years of anticipation, the Texas State Aquarium officially opened in 1990, bringing life back to North Beach and adding the most significant new visitor attraction to the Coastal Bend in its history. Before long, sea turtle, otter and seabird exhibits were added, and the Aquarium earned accreditations as a federally permitted animal rescue facility, and from the American Zoo & Aquarium Association. In 2003, the Aquariums first major expansion, the $10 million Dolphin Bay, opened to rave reviews and add-ing a new dimension of entertainment for visitors.Over the subsequent decade, through success at at-tracting some 400,000 visitors per year, earned federal, state and NGO grants for vital conservation and rescue projects, and especially the continued generous sup-port of thousands of private donors, the Aquarium added and renovated dozens of exhibits that span the vast spectrum of marine sea life species.In 2017, the Texas State Aquarium doubled in size and took its place among the biggest and most diverse aquariums in the U. S., when the $50 million Caribbean Journey wing opened its doors. With historic, new de-velopment coming to North Beach in the coming years, the next wave of growth is being planned for the TSA.86 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEFall 2019 TheCoastalBend.com'