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Around NOAA Gulf Region

SeaFest 2008


Captain Rick Brown (Ret.), NOAA Fisheries Service
Ken Hall, Oregon State University
Vicky Krikelas, NOAA Fisheries Service

seafest logo - graphic courtesy Oregon State UniversityA Several NOAA line offices and a host of partners recently took part in Seafest 2008. Seafest is an annual event held at Oregon State University’s (OSU) Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Ore., which educates the public about marine and coastal ecosystems through interactions with scientists and hands-on exhibits. Seafest promotes environmental literacy through hands-on interactive displays of the breadth of science activities conducted at the Hatfield campus.

This one-NOAA event involved dozens of participants from NOAA offices including the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, the Weather Service, and NOAA Fisheries’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), Alaska Fisheries Science Center, and Office of Law Enforcement.

This year’s theme, Ocean frontiers: on the crest of discovery, drew nearly 5,000 participants to the bayside marine laboratory complex. Visitors explored touch pools, aquarium displays, and a variety of special exhibits in the Sea Grant Visitor Center and Science Zone, with many kid-friendly activities including tidepool walks, fish printing, and shore crab races.

The popular Science Zone was held inside NOAA’s Captain R. Barry Fisher Building. NWFSC scientists coordinated fish ageing demonstrations using otoliths (ear bones); showed participants how to collect scientific data about salmon; highlighted the West Coast Groundfish Observer Program, showcased the NOAA Fisheries’ FishWatch consumer seafood website; and staffed an interactive Oceans and Human Health display to illustrate the human connection to the oceans, among many other activities.
Seafest was jointly hosted by NOAA, OSU, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

 

Photo Gallery
Young boy views plastic model of terrain. Kids view a tray of specimens. Dr. Walkefield talks to kids. Andy talks to kids. NOAA Office of Law Enforcement agent Murray Bauer describes marine law enforcement activities to visitors.
Kids view computer screens. Brown points to computer screen. NOAA Corps officer speaks to kids and an adult. Kids try to pick up salmon cut outs from a water-filled kiddie pool using a small net -- what fun!! Boy in a survival suit inside a life raft.
Large crab balloon. Adults and kids looking at a chart. Scene showing various tents and booths. Young boy peers through a microscope. Marisa Litz with young girl holding a painting.