A Florida couple turned a former bank into America’s first jellyfish museum with 21 tanks and around 20 species

A disused bank branch on Florida's coast has found new life as something rather more unusual than another retail unit or coffee shop. In Pompano Beach, just north of Fort Lauderdale, the Jellyfish Museum has opened its doors, and it is believed to be the first museum in the United States built entirely around jellyfish. Dimly lit and deliberately calming, the space houses roughly 20 species across 21 tanks, from moon jellyfish to the upside-down jellyfish found in Florida's own mangroves. Behind it all are Alex and Yana Yanovsky, a couple who once ran thriving aquariums in Ukraine before the 2022 invasion forced them to start again elsewhere. Their story and the building's own transformation from bank vault to jellyfish habitat have turned what could have been an empty storefront into one of Florida's more unexpected new attractions.How did the Florida couple bring their jellyfish museum dream to the USAccording to the Associated Press, the project is Alex and Yana Yanovsky, a husband-and-wife team who once ran successful aquariums in Ukraine, including a jellyfish museum in Kyiv. Their careers there came to an abrupt halt in 2022, when Russia's invasion forced them to leave their businesses and rebuild their lives elsewhere. They eventually settled in Florida, determined to bring their passion for marine life with them.Operations manager Jessica Eisenbarth explained that the couple wasted little time getting back to what they loved once they arrived in the United States. She noted that after leaving Ukraine and moving to Florida, they immediately wanted to share their passion in their new home. The Pompano Beach museum, which opened this past spring, marks the Yanovskys' first aquatic venture since immigrating, and reports suggest they already have ambitions to expand further.What makes the museum’s jellyfish displays uniqueStep inside and the atmosphere shifts dramatically from the bright Florida sunshine outside. The museum is deliberately kept dim, with light coming mainly from projected imagery on the walls and the soft glow of the tanks themselves. Across 21 separate displays, roughly 20 species rotate through the space, among them Japanese sea nettles, moon jellyfish, spotted jellies and the curious upside-down jellyfish, a species native to Florida's own mangrove swamps.The animals themselves are acquired through licensed aquaculture partners rather than taken from the wild, a detail confirmed by the city. Jellyfish have existed for more than 500 million years, predating both dinosaurs and trees, and their lack of a heart or brain only adds to their strange appeal. Experts such as Monty Graham, director of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre, have pointed out that jellyfish exhibits have grown steadily in popularity at aquariums worldwide, a trend he traces back to Monterey Bay Aquarium's pioneering displays in the 1980s and 1990s.How is the jellyfish museum designed to feel calm and meditativeGeneral manager Iryna Pelypkanych has said the museum was designed from the outset to feel calm and meditative rather than clinical or overwhelming. Visitors are guided through the exhibits by staff who explain the ecological role jellyfish play in ocean food chains, as well as why they deserve greater protection rather than the wariness they often provoke among beachgoers.Pelypkanych summed up the museum's underlying goal by saying the aim was to leave people feeling they know "something more about the population of jellyfish," given that around 4,000 species are currently recognised worldwide. With strong early interest and a founding couple already eyeing expansion, this converted bank branch looks set to remain a fixture on Florida's coast for some time to come.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.