Lots of people toss coins into a wishing well and hope it grants their wishes. Whether it works or not, many still follow the old tradition, in many parts of the globe. Likewise, many of us also have the habit of collecting spare change in a piggy bank, hoping it will come in handy when needed. Well, the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores relied on the old tradition and the “piggy bank” custom to help them pay their bills.
The Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores was fortunate enough to have a wishing well among their attractions. No one expected it would someday help them pay the bills. The pandemic has forced lockdowns across the US as well as other parts of the world, which has affected economies tremendously. People are mandated to stay at home to be safe, multiple businesses have been closed, and income has almost dropped to a standstill, while costs continue to mount. Many aquariums, zoos, and similar establishments have also been affected, as customers or visitors have avoided them for safety reasons, yet maintenance costs and wages continue to be persistent.
But luckily for the North Carolina Aquarium, their wishing well has come to the rescue. A hundred gallons of change was collected by employees, which was from 14 years of well-wishers (maybe someone wished the aquarium well). The decision to collect the coins was due to bills continuing to pour in. In a Facebook post by the aquarium, it said “About a 100 gallons of coins were cleaned and sorted and will go toward the general care of the aquarium and animals during this time.”
The aquarium also asked social media followers to try and guess how much money the coins would amount to.With the final tally, the change totalled to nearly $9,000, $8, 563.71 to be exact. Through the years, the coins were tossed into the aquarium’s 30-foot tall Smoky Mountain waterfall. However, the aquarium also posted that they did not realize the efforts to clean, sort, and sift through the coins. It took more than 10 hours just to feed the coins through a change counter at the bank. It would surely take a lot longer at the Coinstar coin-cashing machine at the local grocery store.
The North Carolina Aquarium remains closed to the public as the state continues to maintain social distancing and no mass gatherings for their “Safer at Home Phase 2” measures. Yet workers at the aquarium continue to maintain the facility, and create virtual programs for students and families. Many aquariums and zoos offer virtual tours to try to maintain an income flow. At least for the North Carolina Aquarium, the employees still have a job, thanks to the wishing well. Seems some wishes do come true after all. They were able to conduct an interactive virtual summer camp for kids, and continue to do so.
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