Marine Science Institute

Our programs allows elementary through college-aged students to be marine scientists for a day. Over the past 50 years, we have continuously tailored our science programs to meet the needs of schools. We constantly endeavor to create a program experience that satisfies the teachers' specific educational requirements and support the California State Board of Education Science Content Standards. Discovery Voyages are four-hour explorations of the San Francisco Bay on board our 90-foot research vessel, the Robert. G. Brownlee. Elementary-college students rotate through four stations where they use authentic marine research equipment to conduct science. On these trips, students focus on Ichthyology, Plankton, Hydrology, and Benthos. Land Programs are conducted in Redwood City at MSI's oyster shell beach, pier, aquariums and Discovery Lab. Students work at two to four stations to study fish, benthic invertebrates, plankton, hydrology (water chemistry), sharks, and marine mammals. They use professional-grade oceanographic equipment to take mud grabs, "seine" fish, and collect and test water and plankton samples. In the Ocean Lab program, students handle live animals and use microscopes, keys, and the scientific method to examine five different phyla of tidepool invertebrates and fish, their interrelationships, and their ecology. We also take sharks, fish, crabs, and other marine life out to the schools using a trailer-mounted aquarium. This program can be tailored to the class' needs by focusing on whatever theme or habitat is appropriate to their current curriculum.