Celilo Falls in Newport, Monday, May 11

The educational documentary, Celilo Falls and the Remaking of the Columbia River, by Joe Cone of Oregon Sea Grant, will be shown at the Hatfield Marine Science Center Visitors Center auditorium, Monday, May 11, 6-7 p.m. The half-hour film will be introduced by Cone, and discussion will follow the screening. The award-winning film, previously aired on Oregon Public Broadcasting, is part of the 2009 Water Film Series, Newport Edition. Watch a short preview.

Oregon Sea Grant wins four awards in international competition

hermes-logo6Oregon Sea Grant has won four awards – two Platinums, a Gold, and an Honorable Mention – in the international Hermes Creative Awards 2009 competition.

On the Lookout for Aquatic Invaders won a Platinum in the Design/Publication Overall category; Boats of the Oregon Coast was awarded Platinum for Publications/Handbook; Oregon Sea Grant Program Report 2007 earned a Gold for Video/Internal Communication; and Oregon Sea Grant Publications & Videos 2008 received an Honorable Mention in Publications/Catalog.

The Hermes Creative Awards, named for the ancient Greek messenger, is “an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional and emerging media.” It is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals. This year’s competition attracted some 3,700 entries from around the world.

Congratulations to everyone involved in writing, editing, designing, illustrating, and laying out these four outstanding Oregon Sea Grant products!

HMSC featured on Travel Oregon show

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).

OPB-OSG invasives program wins major broadcast award

CORVALLIS – Columbia University has awarded Oregon Public Broadcasting a 2009 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for its Oregon Field Guide special, “The Silent Invasion.”

The documentary illustrates how invasive species are changing the environment in Oregon. It was produced by OPB in partnership with Oregon Sea Grant, which is based at Oregon State University, and by other organizations.

The award is considered the broadcast journalism equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize.

(Read more …)

HMSC bookstore launches on-line marketplace

NEWPORT, Ore.  – Looking for the perfect holiday gift for your favorite beachcomber, birder or budding marine biologist? The Visitor Center Bookstore at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center may have just what you’re looking for in its new e-commerce store.

Part of the OSU Marketplace, the new outlet offers convenient, secure, on-line ordering for a selection of the bookstore’s most popular titles, including children’s books, field guides to ocean plants and animals, and marine science curriculum resources for teachers and home schoolers.

Bookstore manager Lynne Wright is adding additional product lines, from DVDs and posters to apparel, as time permits. “We see this as an additional way to serve our visitors and other long-time customers, as well as a means of reaching out to those who may not yet have had a chance to visit the Oregon coast,” Wright said.

The on-line store accepts orders from anywhere within the continental United States. Customers from Alaska or Hawaii, and those who wish to make bulk orders, should call the bookstore at (541) 867-0126 to arrange for the best shipping rates.

Proceeds from the bookstore help support public and k-12 marine education programs conducted at the HMSC Visitor Center by Oregon Sea Grant.

OPB invasive species documentary previews in Corvallis, Newport

Logo of statewide campaign to teach Oregonians about invasive speciesScotch broom, Japanese eelgrass, Quagga mussels, and Oregonians: How are they related? The first three are non-native, invasive species of plants and animals –  and  Oregonians often unknowingly spread these and a growing number of other invaders. But they can also stop invasive species before they spread.

A year-long educational effort to prevent the spread of invasive species in Oregon ramps up this month, with the premiere of a new documentary film produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting. The hour-long documentary, “The Silent Invasion,” has its OPB broadcast premiere on Earth Day, April 22 at 8 p.m.

But Oregon Sea Grant’s contributions of time and expertise to the production is bringing special advance screenings to Corvallis, on April 9, and Nweport, on April 17.

Read more …

Visit our new Marine Invaders page for more tools to aid in the fight to identify and control the spread of invasive animals and plants.

Podcasting the HMSC Visitor Center

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

Beach safety videos free, on-line

The Oregon coast can be a risky place if you’re not used to it – especially if your idea of “beach” involves splashing around in warm, shallow water and gentle waves. Learn how to avoid some of the biggest threats – treacherous rip currents that can sweep swimmers out to sea, and massive logs that can get tossed like toothpicks by the surf – with on-line versions of from our new video, Beach Safety Basics. (Flash player required)
View these and other video clips here.

DVD: Celilo Falls – 50th anniversary edition

Celilo Falls DVD coverCelilo Falls and the Remaking of the Columbia River: 50th Anniversary Edition. This award-winning documentary uses rare archival footage and photos to examine a turning point in the history of the Pacific Northwest. For more than 10,000 years the region’s native peoples lived successfully off the land and waters. Salmon was a mainstay of the Indians’ diet, and for millennia Celilo Falls was the great Indian fishery on the mid-Columbia River, drawing people from throughout the West to trade for salmon. Then, in 1957, a giant hydroelectric dam at The Dalles drowned Celilo Falls and ended the fishery there for all time. Celilo Falls and the Remaking of the Columbia River provides a glimpse of life at Celilo as it once was and considers the cultural, social, and political forces that brought about its end. This 2007 edition marks the 50th anniversary of the inundation, with additional rare Celilo footage provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2007. Color, DVD. 29 minutes. $19.95 plus $2 shipping and handling.

New on DVD: Beach Safety Basics

Beach Safety BasicsJust in time for vacation season, two new, short videos from Oregon Sea Grant address two of the most common safety hazards associated with the Pacific Northwest coasts: rolling logs and rip currents. All too often, visitors to our beaches are unfamiliar with the dangers of playing on large logs that may roll in the surf, or powerful rip currents which can pull swimmers out to sea. The two videos contained on this DVD explain these hazards and how to avoid or respond safely to them, using interviews with experts to emphasize key insights.

The videos are intended for use wherever coastal visitors congregate, including coastal museums,visitor centers, hotels, motels, campgrounds, and local cable TV stations.

Available  for $6.95 per copy plus $2 shipping and handling: