Alamo City may be landlocked a couple of hours from the ocean, but the San Antonio Zoo wants to play its part in restoring fragile marine ecosystems. The Brackenridge Park institution will open the Brewer Ocean Conservation Lab in summer 2026.
According to the zoo’s announcement, the lab will be located next door to the historic Friedrich Aquarium. The 937-square-foot facility will offer space for marine biologists to research and restore waning coral species.
Part of that effort will be in growing the invertebrates so they can be reintroduced into the wild. The zoo is partnering with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program to help the species thrive in the Texas coast’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and beyond.
For guests, it will offer plenty of educational opportunities. Visitors will learn about Texas and international coral species, get hands-on learning through a touch tank, and dive deep into the zoo’s ongoing conservation efforts.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, the Flower Garden Banks are increasingly in peril due to the effects of climate change, including rising sea temperatures, ocean acidification, and increasingly violent storms. Previously one of the healthiest coral habitats on the planet, the sanctuary could become critically hot as early as 2050.
The coral lab was made possible by a donation from the family of R.P. Brewer, a late geology professor at San Antonio College. The zoo says the space will “merge his passion for science with [its] vision of securing a future for wildlife.”
The San Antonio Zoo has been in growth mode in 2025, adding Kicheko, a new baby giraffe, to the herd in June and adding new “Conserfari” tours that give visitors an intimate drive through the Naylor Savannah. Undoubtedly, the splashiest new addition is Congo Falls, an immersive gorilla habitat that is set to open later in 2025.
A request for further information on the Brewer Ocean Conservation Lab was not returned in time for publication.