Know your anemone, at Marine Science Day

Marine Science Day is returning virtually this Saturday, April 9, with the theme, “Local Research, Global Impact.”

Hosted by Newport’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, the event will include animal interactions, research talks and a live shark dissection.

Keynote speaker Dr. Lisa Ballance, director of the OSU Marine Mammal Institute, presents “A mystery whale uncovered off the Oregon Coast.” Ballance will speak about the rare sighting of a pair of Hubb’s beaked whales during a 2021 research cruise.

Other live events include:

●      Live marine animal interactions featuring sea anemones, sea cucumbers and tidepool sculpin with marine education specialists Lindsay Carroll from Oregon Sea Grant and Cait Goodwin from the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

●      “Genetics: How to give a whale a PCR test,” a talk by Debbie Steel, senior faculty research assistant in the Cetacean Conservation Genomics Lab.

●      “Think it, build it, sink it: Creating tools for marine science,” a talk by Drummond Biles, manager of the Innovation Lab.

Take a tour in the virtual exhibit hall to see:

●      The Kid Zone, with marine science activities for all ages.

●      A community art gallery, art prompt and virtual gallery where the public can digitally display their marine science-inspired creations.

●      Dozens of interactive displays on local research with global impacts.

●      Behind-the-scenes video tours of the Hatfield center, research vessels and coast habitat research.

Viewers will also receive information on how to get involved locally with citizen-science projects, volunteer opportunities, life-long learning or art and expression.

Marine Science Day will be live from 10 am to 2 pm, but the webpage will remain active for the year and include recordings of the live events. For more information, go to hmsc.oregonstate.edu/marine-science-day-2022.