Category Archives: HMSC Visitor Center

Celebrate fisheries at HMSC

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oregon-fisheries-dayThe HMSC Visitor Center and the Oregon Coast Aquarium join forces on Aug. 16 to celebrate Oregon Fishery Day, a chance for visitors to learn more about Oregon’s tuna, salmon and sablefish industries.

See fishing gear, talk to fishermen, try on a survival suit and taste some samples!

The Visitor Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free (although your donations to support our programs are appreciated); admission to the Oregon Coast Aquarium is at the usual ticket prices.

Download a .pdf flyer about the event here.

SeaFest combines fun, learning at HMSC

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HMSC SeaFest

NEWPORT  – Hands-on activities, displays, food and fun for the whole family come together on June 27 in the seventh annual SeaFest at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center.

The day-long event, starting at 10 a.m.,  offers visitors a chance to go behind the scenes to see the labs and meet the scientists who study marine life, explore the bottom of the sea, and track whales across the world’s oceans.

A wide range of exhibitors, food vendors, live music, and activities for kids are all part of the annual event. Visitors can watch the Hatfield center’s resident giant Pacific octopus, “Amigo,”  devour a live crab during the noontime feeding, or get their hands wet inspecting sea stars, anemones, fish and sea urchins in the touch pools that simulate the rocky intertidal zone.

Read more …

Oregon Sea Grant fellow studies effects of jellyfish off Oregon coast

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lanayafitzgerald2The numbers of jellyfish in the Pacific Ocean have been increasing dramatically over the past few years, and scientists are concerned. Why? Because jellyfish eat certain fish larvae—which not only reduces the numbers of those fish but puts jellyfish in direct competition with other predators. Further, jellyfish can thrive in low-oxygen (hypoxic) waters, giving them an added advantage for survival.

Oregon State University (OSU) student Lanaya Fitzgerald, a fellow in Oregon Sea Grant’s Undergraduate Marine Research Fellowship Program, has been conducting research to determine the effects of one particular species of jellyfish—the sea nettle—on fish larvae off the Oregon coast. Her research indicates that sea nettles do, indeed, have a voracious appetite for several commercially important fish species, including Pacific cod, Pacific tomcod, and walleye pollock.

Fitzgerald’s work with jellyfish began in 2008, when she participated in a National Science Foundation-sponsored program called “Research Experience for Undergraduates” at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC), with mentors Ric Brodeur and Tom Hurst of NOAA. Co-mentor Bill Hanshumaker of HMSC helped supervise her Sea Grant fellowship. In early May of this year, Fitzgerald presented a poster highlighting some of the results of her research at OSU’s “Celebrating Undergraduate Excellence” symposium (see photo). On Saturday, June 27, her work will come full circle with a presentation (including some live jellyfish and fish larvae) at HMSC’s annual Seafest, in Newport, Oregon.

For more information, contact Ms. Fitzgerald at fitzgela@onid.orst.edu.

Oregon Sea Grant’s “Oregon Coast Quests” featured in magazine

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“Some call it a treasure hunt, but Quest coordinator Cait Goodwin, a marine educator with Oregon Sea Grant at ocmagcovermayjune09Newport’s Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC), is quick to point out that the Quest Box at the end is not a treasure chest.”

So writes Julie Howard, Oregon Sea Grant program assistant, in the May/June 2009 edition of Oregon Coast magazine. Her article, “Oregon Coast Quests,” explains what Quests are and where to find them, and describes the experience of going on an actual Quest.

For more information about Oregon Coast Quests, call 541-867-0100 or visit the program’s Web site.

“Ocean of Junk” presentation at HMSC April 27

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NEWPORT, Ore. – Parts of the Pacific Ocean are beginning to resemble a landfill and the increasing accumulation of debris – mainly plastic – is the focus of a special presentation on Monday, April 27, at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.

Two environmental activists from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in California will visit the center as part of their 2,000-mile bicycle tour from British Columbia to Mexico to raise awareness about what some are calling the “North Pacific Garbage Patch.”

Read more …

HMSC featured on Travel Oregon show

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This week’s episode of “Grant’s Getaways,” a Travel Oregon video blog by Oregon broadcast journalist Grant McOmie, features OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center in Newport, where Sea Grant Extension educator Bill Hanshumaker talks about how the center connects fun with learning:

View the video at Travel Oregon’s Vimeo site).

Deadline approaches for teacher workshop registration

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Sea Grant, NOAA and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry join forces to present part two of the  “Learning Ocean Science through Ocean Exploration Curriculum”  professional development series for grade 6-12 teachers on April 4 at OMSI in Portland.

A followup to the an introductory workshop based on the NOAA-developed Ocean Exploration Program curriculum, the workshop will focus on light in the deep sea; adaptations, including bioluminescence; hydrothermal vents and cold seeps; and chemosynthetic tubeworms.

Pre-registration is required by March 20. For more information, download the workshop flyer (.pdf format) and registration form from Oregon Sea Grant’s marine education program at the Hatfield Marine Science Center.

Oregon Sea Grant’s Julie Howard publishes article about hypoxia

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“In 2006, Oregon and Washington experienced the worst hypoxic event on record as near-shore oxygen levels dropped in some places to zero…”

So writes Julie Howard, Oregon Sea Grant program assistant, in the March/April 2009 edition of Oregon Coast magazine. Her article, “An Ocean without Oxygen,” goes on to describe some of the possible causes of hypoxia, the devastating effects, and how researchers and fishermen are collaborating to address the issue.

For more information about the hypoxia phenomenon, visit the Web site of the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO).

Marine educator Bill Hanshumaker featured on BeachConnection.net

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A day at the beach in Oregon can be a bit mind-bending. The Sci-Fi Channel could find lots to be inspired by here. The ocean and the shoreline environment are some of the most dynamic places on Earth, where things constantly change, sometimes in truly freaky ways.

Bill Hanshumaker, Public Marine Education Specialist with the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, is among the coastal experts featured in a BeachConnections.net article on strange things that can be found on Oregon’s beaches …

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High school students investigate marine science careers at the HMSC

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Registration is now being accepted for the April 17 Career Days at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.

Open to all high school students, this year’s event – “CSI – Careers in Science Investigation” – will focus on some of the mysteries scientists attempt to unravel: What’s causing marine “dead zones”? What do whales do when no one is looking? How does a scientist determine why a marine animal died?
Students will have the opportunity to meet working scientists and learn what their jobs are really like, to explore the high-tech equipment and techniques researchers use to investigate the ocean, and to tour  labs and research facilities at the HMSC.

Registration is $15 per student, and preregistration is required by April 3. For more information visit Oregon Sea Grant’s marine education program on the HMSC Web site.