March 6, 2000
Seymour Marine Discovery Center will open with weekend of activities on March 11-12
By Tim Stephens
The grand opening of the Seymour Center at Long Marine Laboratory will take place on the weekend of March 11 and 12. The celebration will include live music, food, and special programs throughout the center.
This spectacular new science education center overlooking the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary features galleries full of aquariums and exhibits, touch tanks, classrooms, an 87-foot blue whale skeleton, a gift and book shop, and much more. The exhibits focus on the work of researchers at the Institute of Marine Sciences, which operates Long Marine Laboratory.
Regular visiting hours will be Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission fees are $5 for adults and $3 for seniors (age 60 and older), students, and children ages 6 to 16; admission will be free for children age 5 and under. For more information call (831) 459-3800.
Public Grand Opening - Schedule of Events
(Regular admission fee applies)
Saturday, March 11 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
East Hall:
11 a.m. - Lecture: Dr. Mark Carr and Dr. Peter Raimondi
Coastal Conservation: Teaching, Training, Research, and Outreach
Noon - Music, Dedication Ceremony, and Celebration:
Banana Slug String Band, Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood, and friends
1 p.m. - Lecture: Dr. Mary Silver
Tiny Drifters of Monterey Bay
2 p.m. - Music: Banana Slug String Band
The Awesome Ocean
3 p.m. - Lecture: Dr. Russell Flegal
Contamination and Pollution: Is There a Difference?
4 p.m. - Storytelling: Nancy Lenz
Whale Tales
Feeding Demonstrations in the aquariums: 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Sunday, March 12 (Noon to 5 p.m.)
East Hall:
12:30 p.m. - Lecture: Dr. Giacomo Bernardi
Molecular Ecology of Coral Reef Damselfishes
1:30 p.m. - Childrenâs Theater: Zun Zun
Que Viva El Mar: Celebrations of the Sea from around the Americas
2:30 p.m. - Lecture: Dr. Ronald J. Schusterman
Seals and Habitat Degradation of the Noisy Kind
3:30 p.m. - Childrenâs Theater: Zun Zun
Que Viva El Mar: Celebrations of the Sea from around the Americas
Feeding Demonstrations in the aquariums: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Ongoing Activities (Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m.)
Seawater Lab: Investigate creatures of the tidepools, large and small.
Teaching Lab: Explore amazing marine mammal adaptations; become your favorite sea
creature with face paints.
Around the center: Discover the sanctuary on the south deck, understand the workings
of the marine lab seawater system at the bluff overlook, and learn about the life
and times of a blue whale.
