2026 Symposium & Workshop – Kansas City
AALSO has expanded greatly in the last 30 years. The organization now has over 1,000 members, 500 certified operators, and roughly 300 vendor members. These vendor members supply the zoo and aquarium industry with pumps, valves, filters, heat exchangers, sensors, and every other piece of equipment that keep animals and their habitats healthy.
Hosted By
Kansas City
Registration will open in the Spring
The 31st Annual Aquatic Animal Life Support Operators Symposium and Workshops will be hosted by the Kansas City in Kansas City, MO. Registration will include access to:
- All workshops, lectures and AALSO Exams
- Hot breakfast and lunch Monday – Wednesday
- Appetizers at the Ice Breaker Sunday Night
- Wednesday Certification Banquet.
Event Registration
Registration will open in the Spring of 2026
You must be a current AALSO Operator Member before registering as an Attendee for the 2026 Symposium & Workshops.
Become an AALSO member now by clicking here
OPERATOR Registration
There will be 4 types of registrations this year, Attendee, Exhibitor, Non Exhibiting Vendor and Guest.
Keep an eye open for email on when registration will open in the Spring of 2026.
-
- Operator Attendee registration fees:
- Academic Partner (University Student) $445
- Early Registration (ends 2-28-25) : $495
- Late Registration (begins 3-1-25) : $695
- Day Pass : $175/day
- Single Evening Guest Event Passes: $75/event
- Ice Breaker Sunday Evening
- Monday Evening Aquarium
- Tuesday Evening Mixer
- Wednesday Evening Certification Banquet
- Certified Pool Operator Course (20 people MAX) $350
- Virtual AALSO Level I LSS and WQ certification for those who cannot physically attend? $100 per certification
- Attendee Cancellation Policy: Attendees can cancel with a full refund up to seven (7) days before the start of the Symposium. Substitutions from the same facility can be arranged without penalty. Please send an email to treasurer@aalso.org to initiate a cancellation or substitution.
- Operator Attendee registration fees:
OPERATOR SPONSORSHIP APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN IN THE FALL.
Emails will be sent in the fall on instructions on applying for sponsorship. If you were not selected last year, please apply again next year!
Sponsorship can cover your registration fee, lodging, airfare, or everything!
How to apply? Application instructions will be send in the Fall of 25′
All applications must be submitted by January, 2026 and notification of sponsorship will be sent out by February 1st,
so you can still get early bird registration prices, if you are not selected. No applications will be considered after the deadline.
The 2026 AALSO Symposium and Workshops mobile app will be available closer to the Symposium
VENDOR Registration
Exhibiting and Non-Exhibiting Vendor Registration:
Vendor Registration will open in the Fall.
- Exhibiting Vendor Registration: $2500
- Additional Booth Attendees: $500/attendee
- Non-Exhibiting Vendor: $1500
- Non-Exhibiting Vendor Day Pass: $750/day
- Single Evening Guest Event Passes: $75/event
- Ice Breaker Sunday Evening
- Monday Evening Aquarium
- Tuesday Evening Mixer
- Wednesday Evening Certification Banquet
Guest Pass Cancellation Policy: Guest passes can be canceled with a full refund up to seven (7) days before the start of the Symposium. Please send an email to treasurer@aalso.org to initiate a cancellation or substitution.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
- Please, please, please make sure that whoever is supposed to be registering your company has their profile up to date on the AALSO.org website. Everyone within your company will receive these communications as long as their contact information is up to date.
- Please also make sure that whoever registers your company keeps the passwords they set up for each attendee so that everyone can log in and make any necessary changes to their individual registration as needed, including registering for workshops.
- Booth selection this year will be based on a set of metrics rather than a straight first come, first served method. The metrics include:
- years exhibited
- years as a sponsor
- years of workshop support
Vendors booth assignments will first be sorted based on these metrics, secondly by when they registered. If you register late, then your place in line will be based on the same vendor participation metrics, in latter chronological order.
Vendor Hall layout will be available once registration is open.
Facility & Accommodations
This years hotel is:
Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center
2345 McGee St, Kansas City, MO 6410
Please use the AALSO room block reservation code that will be sent out later this year.
The local airport is the Kansas City International Airport MCI
1 Kansas City Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64153
Arriving & Departing transportation will be the responsibility of each attendee.
Transportation to and from AALSO evening events will be provided by AALSO.
Abstracts
Abstract submittals will be open in the Fall
We will be accepting abstracts for presentations for the 2026 Symposium in the Fall!
The 31st annual AALSO Symposium & Workshops will be hosted by the Kansas City Z0o and Aquarium and take place March 28th – April 1st, 2026 .
Topics should include but are not limited to:
Instrumentation, Green and Sustainable Technologies, Renovations, LSS and Exhibit Design, Innovations, Water Quality, and Dirty Laundry.
Presentations will be both in-person and virtual!
Transferable Registration: Virtual Presenters may now transfer their FREE registration! If you have a presentation to share but are currently unable to commit to attending in-person, consider sending a fellow staff member in your place!
All presentations will be video recorded by Animal Professional and will be available on their website.
We thank you all for your participation!
Abstract Directions:
(1) Title:
Presentation title should be short and succinct, but clearly represent the theme of the presentation.
(2) Authors:
Include the full names and affiliations of all authors; with full mailing address, email address, and telephone number.
(3) Abstract text:
Abstracts should be informative, stating the purpose of the work and summarize significant findings. They should include an introduction, convey the main point, and outline results and conclusions. Contributions should be scientifically robust. Abstracts should not contain statements such as “this will be discussed”; instead, include information to make the abstract informative. Abstracts must not exceed 150 words.
Submissions & Deadlines
Registration is FREE for all lecture presenters! *One per presentation
Abstract submission deadline: January 2026
Notification of acceptance: January , 2026
Workshops
2026 Workshops
Once again we will offer an assortment of hands on workshops this year. Workshop registration will open in the fall.
Workshop Agenda will be available in the Winter/Spring!
Workshop Abstracts will be available in the Winter/Spring!
We received a lot of great feedback in the workshop surveys and wish to thank all who took the time to provide us with input.
Certifications
Get Certified
AALSO offers a multi-level operator competency acknowledgement program based on exams created and administered by the AALSO Certification Committee.
AALSO believes that it is appropriate to develop recognition criteria and a proficiency program that encourages Zoo and Aquarium institutions to incorporate these training criteria into their operator development program.
- AALSO LSS Operator Levels 1-3 Certification
- AALSO Water Quality Technician Levels 1-3 Certification
- ASME B 31.3 Certification
- OSHA Certification
- NSPF Certified Pool Operator Certification- pending class size restrictions*
* additional fee applies (contact treasurer@aalso.org for more information)
For workshop related questions: workshops@aalso.org
For agenda related questions: agenda@aalso.org
Previous Symposiums & Events
