The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), located in St. Petersburg, FL intends to award a purchase order to the Pier Aquarium. The Pier Aquarium will design, and construct the Ocean Today exhibit to be installed at "Secrets of the Sea: Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium." NOAA is providing the aquarium with access to use NOAA's Ocean Today live feed of current NOAA stories and news. The Ocean Today exhibit is based out of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. The NOAA stories and news are of national and regional content. This purchase order will be to provide the kiosk structure itself to house the equipment that will broadcast these NOAA stories to the aquarium visitors. This is an educational display, which enhances the knowledge of the general public to help protect the living marine resources. The harm to the government would be the public not being educated, thus making it more difficult for NOAA to achieve its mission which is to protect the living marine resources. There are many regional regulatory and conservation issues in which the government is trying to inform residents and visitors about. This exhibit will reach hundreds of thousands of people at the aquarium. Without the structure for the Ocean Today exhibit, the aquarium will not be able to host the exhibit and major NOAA mission messaging will be lost. This exhibit will be part of the education exhibitory that Pier Aquarium and NOAA have collaborated on for the past year. This exhibit will add to the education of the public and natural resources users. The exhibit is needed as a tool to effectively communicate key messages to the public. Pier Aquarium owns the venue and is the only one authorized to add exhibits.

The Ocean Today Exhibit should include:
- Design of exhibit cabinetry
- Fabrication of exhibit cabinetry
- Procurement of hardware (touch screen monitor, large "slave" monitor, hard drive, power supply, wiring and internet connection)
- Hardware and software integration, setup and beta testing
- Label writing and graphic design
- Graphic production
- Exhibit installation

No permits are needed for this project to be done. The Pier Aquarium is the only public venue in Pinellas County that currently hosts another NOAA marine fisheries exhibit. This exhibit will complement the existing exhibits, NOAA's mission. The Pier Aquarium are very knowledgeable and can talk to the public about the new and existing exhibits and help disseminate NOAA's mission messages.

The NAICS code is 712130. The Government knows of no other source besides The Pier Aquarium, Inc., with this level of expertise and that could provide the continuity for the government. Firms who believe they can provide the services must submit detailed plan and information concerning their capability, along with information about their location, facility and specific expertise in relationship to the requirement. In addition shall include name, telephone number and address of concerns for which you have furnished this type of service previously. Interested parties must respond within (5) five calendar days after publication of this notice. The Eastern Region Administrative Division (ERAD) requires that all contractors doing business with the Acquisition Office must be registered with the Systems for Award Management. No award can be made unless the vendor is registered in. For additional information and to register in CCR please access the following website: http://www.sam.gov/. In order to register with the CCR offerors must have a Dun & Bradstreet Number. A Dun & Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun & Bradstreet on-line at https://www.dnb.com/product/eupdate/requestOptions.html or by phone at (800) 333-0505. The government encourages all contractors submit their Certification and Representation thru the on-line Systems for Award Management. The Systems for Award Management (SAM) is the single source for vendor data for the federal government. Contractors should go on-line at www.bpn.gov. Faxed responses can be sent to 757-664-3845, Attn: Sharon Walker or emailed to [email protected].

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