Time for a little Hat-field research

If you’ve missed your fix of the fun, interactive exhibits and cool, science-based displays at Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport you’ll be pleased to hear that, after a nearly 17-month closure, the visitor center plans to reopen on Sunday, Aug. 1, with reservable, one-hour time slots.

Visitors will find a new interactive exhibit that simulates the bridge of a research vessel that is being built in Louisiana and will be operated by OSU. Standing at the helm, you can steer the 199-foot R/V Taani through Yaquina Bay and watch the computer-animated surroundings pass by on a semicircle of five screens.

You will also find a new exhibit featuring tanks of different species of locally caught crabs. To celebrate the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 50th anniversary, which occurred in 2020, there’s also a timeline of the agency’s research in the Pacific Northwest.

Long-standing favorites are still there, including the indoor tidepool, where people can touch sea anemones, and tanks where you can learn about erosion and wave energy by crashing waves against Lego structures. Coastal photos by Newport’s Bill Posner will be hung in the space of a former gift shop.

Reservations can be made for times as far ahead as Sept. 30. If the maximum capacity has not been reached, you can buy tickets online at the door using your smartphone.

A temporary $3 admission fee for those ages five and older will be charged to help pay for extra staffing and public health measures including enhanced cleaning.

Before the pandemic, about 150,000 people each year passed through the doors of the visitor center, which opened in 1965 and has been managed by Oregon Sea Grant since 1997.

The Hatfield Marine Science Center is located at 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport. The visitor center will be open from 10 am to 4 pm, Thursday through Monday. For more information, go to hmsc.oregonstate.edu.