Visitors to OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center in Newport can now tune in to video tours that describe the center’s exhibits, the work of HSMC researchers and what goes on behind the scenes to keep the public aquarium healthy and functioning.

The short videos, produced by Oregon Sea Grant Communications, are available as podcasts, downloadable to your personal computer, iPod or other hand-held device.

Visitors can download the videos at home to get a preview of what’s in store for them – or they can check out iPods when they arrive at the Visitor Center and use them as portable guides to the center’s interactive exhibits. Most of the videos are also great for anyone interested in learning more about marine science.

It’s all part of a larger effort to understand more about how people learn in “free-choice” settings such as the Visitor Center. Sea Grant’s Free-Choice Learning educator, Shawn Rowe, and his team of student asssitants are surveying visitors to determine whether adding iPods to the Visitor Center mix might change or enhance learning.

Subscribe to the podcasts via iTunes or our direct RSS feed