Explore marine studies

with special tours of the Lewes campus during the summer

If you have an interest in the ocean or are curious about the research being conducted at the College of Marine Studies (CMS), then take a free tour of the college's facilities at the Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. Tours are offered by a trained group of guides at 10:30 a.m. every Friday through August.

Bob Carnahan has been heading the group guides, or docents, since 1992, when the tour program began. The docents are trained volunteers from the community who introduce the public to the research and teaching facilities at CMS. More than 1,000 visitors are guided through Cannon and Smith laboratories every year.

Each tour typically begins with a 15-minute introductory video that highlights many of the college's research activities. The video transports visitors from the beaches of Delaware Bay where scientists collect data to assess the status of the horseshoe crab population, to the remote sensing labs in Newark where satellite technology is being used to monitor and predict El Niño and other related phenomena.

After the video presentation is a walking tour of Cannon and Smith laboratories where the majority of the research in the college's Oceanography and Marine Biology-Biochemistry programs is conducted. The walking tour typically takes approximately one hour to complete, making it ideal for the summer or weekend visitor to Delaware's beaches.

The tour includes a visit to laboratories where genetic research on marine organisms such as oysters and fish is performed and greenhouses where new uses for salt-marsh plants are being investigated. Other popular stops along the tour are at laboratories where scientists are conducting research on the horseshoe crab and investigating the year-to-year fluctuation in the population of blue crabs.

New to the walking tour this year are a number of exhibits and displays on how UD scientists are studying extreme marine environments, such as the ice-covered seas of the Antarctic and hydrothermal vent sites over a mile deep at the bottom of the ocean. Find out how research in these areas is leading to exciting discoveries and new techniques for applications in science and industry.

To join a Friday morning tour, call the Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service at (302) 645-4346 no later than noon the preceding day to reserve a place. Since tour groups are limited in size, reservations are imperative. Families are invited to participate; however, the tours are not suitable for small children.

In addition to the Friday morning tours, the college offers prearranged tours for groups of five or more, junior-high age or older, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Such tours may be scheduled by calling at least a week in advance. The Hugh R. Sharp Campus, located at 700 Pilottown Rd. in Lewes, is accessible to handicapped visitors.

MARINE STUDIES TALK ON GRAD STUDY EXPERIENCES

Two graduate students--Damian Brady and Kevin Stierhoff--will discuss their experiences while studying for advanced degrees and working in an academic environment at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 25, in 104 Cannon Laboratory on UD's Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes.

Their talk, "The Stresses on Fish and Graduate Students In and Around the Delaware Bay," is part of the Ocean Currents Lecture Series, held once a month through September.

The students will discuss the graduate student experience and its combination of classroom study and hands-on research. While the lecture is free and open to the public, seating is limited and reservations are required. Call (302) 645-4279 for information and reservations.

Photo by STEVEN BILLUTS