88/ 100
HotTier 2Enriched
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
A year-round nonprofit aquarium, education and conservation organization operating a City-owned waterfront campus in South Norwalk.
Research snapshot2026-08-2122 cited sources · 6/6 modules complete Open PDF Report
ICP score88/1002026-08-21 · Evidence-calibrated Tier 2 score
Owned Aquarium guests448KFY2025 · Owned first-party attendance
FY2025 support and revenue$20.342MFY2025 · Includes $5.0M of donor-restricted contributions
Instagram followers34.9K2026-08-21 · Point-in-time official-account snapshot
Visual evidence profile
What supports the opportunity
Source composition and verified operating momentum at a glance.
Evidence mix22 cited sources
Six-segment module readiness strip
Verified growth trendTicketed attendance
Ticketed attendance recovered sharply after pandemic disruption and reached 484,148 in FY2022, 63% above FY2021.
Visual intelligence map
Research coverage
Each branch maps directly to a required module in the plugin’s canonical report schema.
Why this lead fits CTM
The Aquarium combines 448,000 owned FY2025 guests, a new 2026 seabird exhibit, active visitor programming, a direct ticket path and strong Fairfield/New York source-market evidence. The score is recalibrated to 88 because CTM inventory, customer status, discretionary budget and final buyer ownership remain unverified, while a large part of FY2025 revenue growth was donor-restricted.
Fit reasons
The Aquarium reported 448,000 guests in FY2025 and operates daily as a ticketed visitor attraction.
Seabirds Between Worlds opened in June 2026 as a 5,200-gallon immersive habitat and followed major guest-experience investments in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Its 2018-2022 ticket data showed 36% out-of-state attendance, including about 30% from New York, aligning with regional visitor-discovery use cases.
The official Instagram profile was verified at 34,949 followers and the six-post sample showed recurring visit, volunteer, education and puffin-exhibit activity.
Risks and unknowns
FY2025 support and revenue included $5.0 million of donor-restricted contributions; change in net assets without donor restrictions was negative $343,970 after other items, so total growth is not a clean proxy for discretionary campaign budget.
The WALK Bridge study identifies access disruption, construction effects and constrained facility-expansion options as visitor and operating risks.
Existing-customer status, exact Connecticut inventory, service cadence, campaign budget and analytics access require human confirmation before outreach.
Evidence modules
Lead intelligence structure
Each module uses a view tailored to its canonical evidence type—reports, momentum, channels, leaders, roles, or demand.
01Analyzed reportsThe FY2025 impact report, official FY2024 Form 990 and commissioned FY2022 economic-impact study were analyzed together. They establish current operating scale, funding composition, owned attendance, visitor origins and operator scope without merging incompatible accounting or attendance labels.Complete
Reported Performance12 verified metrics
Total support and revenue$20.342MFY2025
Admissions$7.334MFY2025
Total expenses$17.417MFY2025
Ending net assets$28.007MFY2025
Aquarium guests448KFY2025 · Owned first-party attendance
Inspired learners67,075FY2025
Reviewed Reports3 records
impact and annual report · Year ended June 30, 2025 with FY2024 comparisonFiscal Year 2025 Impact Report
Reports guest and learning reach, strategic pillars, supporters, leadership and comparative statements of activities.
Form 990 · Year ended June 30, 2024FY 2024 Form 990 Public Disclosure
Confirms the legal nonprofit, governance, CEO and filing-basis financial scale.
commissioned economic-impact study · FY2022 with FY2018-FY2022 attendance and visitor-origin analysisThe Economic and Community Impact of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
Analyzes owned ticketed attendance, source markets, ancillary visitor spending, operating impacts and WALK Bridge effects.
The report counted 448,000 guests, 67,075 learners, 11,523 donated volunteer hours, 255 species and 6,856 animals in residence.
Total support and revenue was $20.342 million and ending net assets were $28.007 million.
The strategic plan centers on reimagining the Aquarium experience, lifelong learning, environmental stewardship, Long Island Sound protection and community engagement.
Additional Evidence18 items
Additional Metrics
Volunteer hours donated11,523FY2025
Form 990 revenue$16.485MFY2024
Form 990 expenses$16.071MFY2024
Total assets$27.234MFY2024
Modeled statewide economic output$88.6MFY2022 · Commissioned IMPLAN-modeled impact; not Aquarium revenue
Ticketed attendance484,148FY2022 · Owned ticketed attendance
Additional Signals
Reimagine the Aquarium experience, foster lifelong learning and stewardship, protect Long Island Sound wildlife and habitats, and engage communities near and far.
Five million dollars of FY2025 contributions carried donor restrictions, while the without-donor-restrictions change in net assets was negative $343,970 after other items.
The filing reports $16.485 million of revenue, $16.071 million of expenses and $27.234 million of total assets.
Jason Patlis signed as President and CEO; the return says senior management and the board reviewed the filing.
Form 990 totals and the annual-report statement of activities use different classifications; this report does not merge them into one trend.
FY2022 ticketed attendance was 484,148, 63% above FY2021 and above FY2018-FY2019 levels.
Out-of-state visitors were 36% of attendance in the 2018-2022 data, with about 30% of total attendance from New York.
Modeled FY2022 statewide economic output was $88.6 million; this is an economic-impact estimate, not Aquarium revenue or owned footfall.
Maintain the Aquarium as a South Norwalk economic, cultural and educational anchor while managing WALK Bridge disruption and replacement needs.
The report warns that construction access, lost functional assets and constrained expansion options may suppress visitation and require additional fundraising.
Research Boundaries
FY2025 'Aquarium guests' and FY2022 'ticketed attendance' are not assumed to be identical measures, so no direct 2022-to-2025 growth rate is claimed.
The FY2025 impact report is current, but no audited financial-statement opinion was exposed on the reports page.
02Growth signalsAdmissions, membership and total support increased in FY2025, while the cost base also rose and unrestricted results remained slightly negative. The new seabird exhibit and active 2026 program calendar create a real visitor-acquisition trigger without proving available media budget.Complete
Seabirds Between Worlds opened in June 2026 with Connecticut's only puffins in a 5,200-gallon habitat included with admission.
The 2026 newsroom shows a dense summer calendar spanning family education, a teen sustainability initiative, a new 4D shark film and public cruises.
The official careers board showed nine openings, including advancement, grant-management, education, accessibility and monitoring/evaluation roles.
The Aquarium moved from No. 10 in the 2025 USA TODAY reader ranking to No. 9 in 2026.
Additional Evidence4 items
Additional Signals
Use the active exhibit-and-program window for a short, geo-split acquisition test; keep creative focused on a specific ticketed visit rather than institutional awareness alone.
Unrestricted operating flexibility is tighter than total revenue growth suggests because restricted contributions drove much of the increase.
WALK Bridge-related access and traffic disruption may affect visitor response and placement timing.
Research Boundaries
No comparable owned attendance series after FY2022 or campaign-spend/ROAS history was found.
03Social activityThe verified Instagram account is active and commercially useful: six sampled posts over August 7-19 mixed animal education, volunteer recruitment, teen-program acquisition and puffin content, with a 397-like sample median and one 7,600-like reel.Complete
Additional Evidence5 items
Additional Signals
The August 19 ECHO Teen post used a September 1 deadline and link-in-bio application CTA.
The August 18 Summer Stewards post included a link-in-bio volunteer CTA.
The official profile uses a Linktree handoff that can support campaign-specific destinations.
Research Boundaries
Engagement is a point-in-time visible sample; reach, saves, paid amplification, demographics and conversion are not public.
Facebook, YouTube, X and Pinterest links were visible from the official site but were not sampled at post level; no cross-channel performance claim is made.
04C-suite activityThe current leadership page identifies Jason M. Patlis as President and CEO and Ann Marie Lisi as Director of Engagement. Patlis publicly framed the 2026 exhibit and national recognition around community connection, guest experience, conservation and education.Complete
President and CEOJason M. Patlis
Escalate only after an operational owner validates a measurable visitor-acquisition use case tied to current exhibits and source markets.
Director of EngagementAnn Marie Lisi
Lead with a bounded Fairfield/New York visitor-discovery hypothesis using the 2026 seabird exhibit and trackable ticket paths.
Decision PathPublic buying signals
Guest-experience renewal, conservation, education and community partnership.
Executive sponsor for a strategic visitor-discovery or regional partnership proposal; not the first operational contact.
The title indicates responsibility connected to audience engagement, but the public page does not define paid-media or ticket-acquisition authority.
Additional Evidence3 items
Additional Signals
Recommended initial buyer to validate campaign ownership, audience priorities, timing and measurement access.
Research Boundaries
No public statement identified Lisi's current media budget, acquisition target or authority over paid distribution; her buyer role is an inference from the title.
Re-verify leadership titles and contact routing immediately before outreach.
05Hiring activityNine openings were visible on the official Greenhouse board on August 21, 2026. The pattern emphasizes animal care, advancement, education, accessibility, evaluation and visitor safety rather than a direct marketing-team buildout.Complete
9Visible RolesPublic openings connected to this lead
Administration · Norwalk, ConnecticutAssociate Director of Monitoring and Evaluation
Evaluation and data capacity can improve program measurement, but does not establish marketing attribution access.
Animal Husbandry · Norwalk, ConnecticutAquarist I - Jellies
Supports living-collection capacity.
Animal Husbandry · Norwalk, ConnecticutAssistant Curator of Fish, Invertebrates and Jellies
Supports senior husbandry capacity.
Animal Husbandry · Norwalk, ConnecticutPart Time Aquarist - Reptiles, Birds, and Program Animals
Supports animal and visitor-program operations.
Development · Norwalk, ConnecticutAdvancement Officer
Signals active fundraising capacity.
Animal husbandry and living-collection capacity
Fundraising and grants capacity through advancement and senior grant-management openings
Visitor access, education, evaluation and safety operations
Additional Evidence7 items
Additional Records
Development · Norwalk, ConnecticutSenior Grant Manager
Signals grant-management and institutional-funding capacity.
Education Programs · Norwalk, ConnecticutAquarium Educator
Supports front-line education and guest engagement.
Education Programs · Norwalk, ConnecticutAssociate Director of Accessibility
Supports inclusive visitor and learning experiences.
Operations - Safety · Norwalk, ConnecticutSafety & Security Associate
Supports visitor operations and safety.
Additional Signals
The board exposed no marketing or sales opening; this is not evidence that those teams are static or fully staffed.
Research Boundaries
The board did not expose posting dates or employment types in the listing view used for this report.
Visible openings can change daily; refresh the official board within 14 days of outreach.
06Visitor activityOwned reports show substantial Aquarium attendance and a meaningful New York source market, while Connecticut tourism data demonstrates a large regional visitor economy. State and digital-interest figures are explicitly treated as market proxies, not Aquarium footfall.Complete
Demand & DistributionOwned metrics remain distinct from market proxies
Aquarium guests448KFY2025 · Owned first-party attendance
Ticketed attendance484,148FY2022 · Owned ticketed attendance
Out-of-state attendance share36%FY2018-FY2022 · Owned source-market evidence
Connecticut visitors68M2023 · Market proxy - not owned Aquarium footfall
Fairfield County share of CTvisit regional-interest traffic18%2024 · Market proxy - digital interest, not visitors or Aquarium footfall
The Aquarium is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Thanksgiving and Christmas, supporting year-round distribution rather than a seasonal-only offer.
The current newsroom shows concentrated summer experiences, cruises, family education and a new 4D film, creating a summer campaign peak.
From FY2018-FY2022, 36% of attendance was out of state and about 30% of total attendance came from New York; 64% was in-state.
Norwalk contributed 11.4% of visitors in the available zip-code data, followed by Stamford at 6.3%; Bronx and New York City also appeared among the top origins.
Additional Evidence6 items
Additional Signals
Connecticut reported 68 million visitors in 2023, but the statewide number is a market proxy and no Aquarium conversion is claimed.
The official visit page highlights I-95, Metro-North and covered parking access, placing the attraction within road-and-rail arrival flows.
CTM describes brochure distribution across hotels, attractions, visitor centers, airports, welcome centers and transportation corridors; exact Connecticut inventory still requires verification.
Research Boundaries
FY2025 guests and FY2022 ticketed attendance are differently labeled; no direct growth rate is calculated between them.
Connecticut visitor volume and Fairfield County website-interest share are market proxies, not the Aquarium's owned visitors or conversion data.
No owned 2026 attendance, occupancy, daypart, source-market refresh or ticket-conversion baseline was found.
A short, measurable visitor-discovery pilot is proportionate to the Aquarium's current exhibit trigger, owned source-market evidence and direct ticket path, provided CTM inventory, customer suppression and buyer authority clear human review.
Recommended solution
Test brochure or visitor-information distribution in verified Fairfield County and nearby arrival environments with creative anchored to Seabirds Between Worlds, daily access and a market-specific ticket landing page; add digital support only where inventory is confirmed.
Pilot hypothesis
Source-market creative split between Connecticut families and nearby New York visitors may improve qualified ticket sessions during need periods while the 2026 exhibit is current.
Measurement plan
Use route- or market-specific QR codes and UTMs to measure scans, engaged sessions, ticket starts and completed ticket actions where analytics access permits.
Track distribution quantity and replenishment by route alongside digital actions; compare Connecticut and New York creative cohorts without inferring causation from distribution alone.
Set a baseline for need-period ticket conversion and exclude sold-out or construction-disrupted periods from interpretation.