Gary Walker is the new Assistant Operations Manager for the Key West Aquarium. Originally from Oklahoma City, he joined the Key West Aquarium in January 2025 after leaving the Daytona Aquarium And Rainforest where he was the director of husbandry and life support.
Gary has been in the public aquarium field for 30 years in various roles. His first job was at the Dallas World Aquarium. During his tenure he participated in the 1997 rainforest expansion that included a 200,000 freshwater Antillean manatee exhibit. Through that experience he gained valuable insight into the processes and know-how of designing and building aquarium exhibits.
After a few years at Dallas World Aquarium, he was offered a position at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino that was under construction in Las Vegas. He designed and maintained three 1,200-gallon sea jelly exhibits, including a propagation room that produced multiple species of jellies for display.
The Bellagio is a sister hotel to the Mirage Hotel, famous for its 20,000-gallon marine exhibit and 2.5-million-gallon dolphin habitat. At the Mirage, Gary assisted in a complete overhaul of the 20,000-gallon front desk exhibit and gained further experience with bottlenose dolphins and the large life support systems that maintained their habitat. After the Bellagio, Gary worked at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium, where he helped with the construction of their holding facility for the sharks. His experience with systems design led him to additional projects installing and maintaining live seafood systems for the MGM Grand, The Venetian, Treasure Island, Caesars Palace, New York-New York, the Paris Hotel, and the Luxor.
After five years, Gary decided to move out of the desert and back to Oklahoma City to be closer to family and start a custom aquarium and life support installation company. Through this venture, he worked with Bass Pro Shops in developing and maintaining their large aquarium exhibits in OKC and Tulsa as well as several other private installations. In addition, he designed and installed entire life support systems for other public aquariums, such as the Electric City Aquarium in Scranton, PA, the Aquarium At The Boardwalk in Branson, MO, and The Daytona Aquarium And Rainforest.
This past January an opportunity presented itself for Gary and his daughters to live in beautiful Key West and work at the Key West Aquarium. He accepted the offer and became the Assistant Operations Manager at the aquarium. We look forward to Gary applying his expertise to our systems and exhibits, enhancing our ability to care for our animals and improve overall customer experience for our guests while keeping the unique charm and character of this beloved little aquarium for many years to come.
Welcome aboard, Gary! We are thrilled to have you here.
