Learn the ropes

Find something to octopi your time at Marine Science Day

Marine Science Day is an annual event showcasing the diverse marine research occurring at Newport’s Hatfield Marine Science Center. After a few years of being held virtually, the hands-on activities are back as the day returns as an in-person event this Saturday, April 8.

Featuring the theme “One Community: Above and Below,” the day will include exhibits featuring more than two dozen Hatfield-based scientists, behind-the-scenes tours, interactive activities and more.

Talks will be given by keynote speaker Sarah Gravem, a marine ecologist who will discuss recent changes in the kelp forest and rocky intertidal ecosystems, and Ann Vileisis, author of “Abalone: The Remarkable History and Uncertain Future of California’s Iconic Shellfish.”

Tours will include Hatfield’s seawater system, the Yaquina Estuary Trail and the vertical tsunami evacuation system at the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building. A Spanish language interpreter will attend this last tour to provide translation.

Among the Oregon State University labs and groups participating in the open house are the Marine Mammal Institute, the Big Fish Lab, the Molluscan Broodstock Program, the Small Boats program and the Scientific Diving program.

Exhibits from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Agriculture also will be featured.

The visitor center will be free and open to visitors all day.

The Hatfield center plays an integral role in programs of marine and estuarine research and instruction, as a laboratory serving resident scientists, as a base for far-ranging oceanographic studies and as a classroom for students. In addition to Oregon State researchers and students, its campus includes research activities and facilities from five different state and federal agencies.

Marine Science Day runs from 10 am to 4 pm at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, located at 2030 SE Marine Science Drive in Newport. For more information, go to hmsc.oregonstate.edu.

Schedule of events

Tours

10:30 and 11 am: Tours of Hatfield’s seawater system.

11 am: Tour of the Yaquina Estuary Trail.

11 am. Tour the vertical tsunami evacuation system at the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building. Spanish interpretation available.

Talks

11 am, Visitor Center Auditorium - Ann Vileisis.

1 pm, Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building - Keynote talk by Sarah Gravem.