VENICE, Calif. -- Every Sunday you can find Tim Rudnick on the Venice Pier. It's his mission to teach anyone he can about the local marine life.
"I was a kid down here in Venice. I’m passionate about Venice and the ocean. I’m passionate about this pier. I fished on this pier with my grandfather," said Rudnick.
Being born and raised in Venice led him to found the Venice Oceanarium, a nonprofit organization or what he deems a "museum without walls." Its goal is to celebrate the ocean and the Venice Beach area specifically.
"We try to promote the idea through the arts about the beauty and majesty and fecundity of the ocean," said Rudnick.
The nonprofit also goes into schools and community centers to spread their knowledge and expertise. But Rudnick wants to take the Oceanarium even further.
He is now proposing a plan to make a permanent museum at the end of the pier. He wants to create a space that attracts locals and tourists alike to learn every day of the year, instead of just Sundays.
"When it's open, we have displays of hands-on activities. We have a touch tank. We have a salt water fountain," said Rudnick.
Right now, the plan is in place and Rudnick says the city loves the idea, but money is needed to back the project. They are hosting fundraising events and collecting donations whenever and however they can. Rudnick hopes to start building within the year.
"If there is nothing behind it, they won’t take it seriously. So that’s what we are doing now. We are on a capital campaign to raise $60,000 to get this thing on the road," said Rudnick.
For more information on the efforts to make the Venice Oceanarium a museum without walls, click here.