Hundreds gathered to await the opening of the MACNA 2018 exhibit floor on Friday morning to the general public.
via MASNA
MASNA® is proud to announce that MACNA 2018 in Las Vegas was the second highest attended MACNA in history, with 6277 ticketed days, just 73 ticketed days below the largest MACNA ever in 2015 in Washington, DC.
Thousands of coral fragments were available from across the globe for attendees to view or purchase for their own collections.
MACNA 2018 enjoyed the largest turnout of any West Coast MACNA, supported by 158 exhibitors on a 70,000-square-foot exhibit floor, 30 speaker presentations, 11 workshop presentations, and 12 interest group meet-ups, resulting in over 40 hours of educational content just for the marine aquarium hobby, not including the hours of presentations made by MASNA Scientific Poster Session presenters. MACNA prides itself on its ability to bring together marine aquarium professionals, business owners, industry professionals, distributors, hobbyists, and scientists all in one place to freely exchange insights and information to help further the marine aquarium industry.
Dozens of individuals like Christina (pictured) prepared and presented their scientific posters on various marine topics to attendees on the exhibit floor on Friday and Saturday.
MACNA 2018 enjoyed a 25.9% increase in ticketed days from 2017. Among those were 352 children aged 17 and younger, as well as nearly $15,000 in discounted tickets to MASNA clubs and retail store owners to support business and hobbyist attendance at MASNA’s 2018 event. Children attending MACNA 2018 also enjoyed the first-ever Kid’s Cove, provided with assistance from the education professionals at Orange Coast College, which included touch tanks and immersive scientific education programs to inspire young minds.
It isn’t all just fun and shopping at MACNA. Sometimes it is all about the simple joy of fish.
In addition to the overwhelming support from attendees, MASNA introduced a new award to complement the current MASNA Award and MASNA Aquarist of the Year awards: the MASNA Pioneer Award. This award is designed to recognize the foundational contributions of scientists, conservationists, industry, and trade practitioners who have contributed immensely to what we perceive as today’s common knowledge. At MACNA 2018 MASNA honored Dr. John “Jack” E. Randall with the 2018 MASNA Pioneer Award for Science and Walt Smith with the 2018 MASNA Pioneer Award for Industry.
MACNA 2018 Keynote Speaker, Professor J.E.N. “Charlie” Veron, and 2018 MASNA Aquarist of the Year Recipient Jamie Craggs showcasing Jamie’s MASNA award he received at the Saturday Night Banquet.
MACNA 2019 is to be held in Orlando, Florida, from August 30th to September 1st, 2019, at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. MACNA 2019’s theme is Celebrating Aquaculture, and educational content and attendee opportunities are currently in development to help promote and showcase the latest advances in aquaculture within the hobby. Attendee tickets and exhibitor booths are currently on sale for MACNA 2019 at MACNA.org.
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