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NEWPORT, Ore. - The Hatfield Marine Science Center will hold its annual Marine Science Day on Saturday, April 11, commemorating the 50th anniversary of this unique Oregon State University facility.

Dedicated in 1965, the center has become an integral part of coastal development, education, research, tourism and economics. Marine Science Day runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the center, located southeast of the Hwy. 101 bridge over Yaquina Bay in Newport.

"Marine Science Day is how we give back to the coastal, statewide and international communities we serve, but it is also a way to honor the past and celebrate the future in this, our 50th year," said Bob Cowen, director of the center. "We will have many of our former faculty, staff and students at HMSC for a reunion that weekend, which will be very meaningful.

"We will get to see the shoulders we are standing on and harness 50 years of momentum as we look to the future," he added.

Marine Science Day, which is free and open to the public, will also feature special exhibits about OSU's new Marine Studies Initiative, which calls for OSU to host 500 students-in-residence at the Oregon coast by the year 2025 for a new, highly experiential undergraduate and graduate program in marine studies.

Oregon State is raising funds for a new teaching and research facility on the Hatfield Marine Science Center campus.

Among the events during Marine Science Day are:

• Interactive displays by researchers from Oregon State and its federal and state government agency partners;
• Demonstrations from the OSU acoustics research group, where you will be able to "see" your voice on a spectrogram;
• An opportunity to become a citizen scientist and learn how to monitor sea star wasting disease with researchers from PISCO - the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans;
• Tidal touch pools with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's shellfish program;
• Tours of the OSU animal husbandry program and the Oregon Coast Community College aquarium science program.

Several research groups at HMSC will offer unprecedented access to their studies, facilities and instruments during the event.

In addition to a see-your-voice exhibit, the acoustics group will have a display with a large hydrophone and sub-woofers so participants can hears actual sounds from the ocean. The Earth-Ocean interactions program will show video of undersea volcanoes and hydrothermal vents. The Plankton Portal program will show beautiful, fascinating images of plankton as part of a major international initiative to learn more about these small marine creatures.

OSU's Marine Mammal Institute will help participants identify whales through binoculars, and the Molluscan Broodstock program will show its oyster and seaweed research projects.

Marine Science Day events:

• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Open house and tours of the Hatfield Marine Science Center, hosted by Oregon Sea Grant and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
• 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. - "Pumped up for Pinnipeds," an presentation in the Visitor's Center Auditorium by the Oregon Coast Aquarium for children and others interested in seals and sea lions;
• 1 p.m. - A feeding of the octopus in the HMSC Visitors Center;
• 3 to 4 p.m. - "Buy a Fish, Save a Tree," a presentation in the Visitor's Center Auditorium by Tim Miller-Morgan of OSU on fish health management and sustainable ornamental fisheries.

More information on Marine Science Day can be found at: http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/marinescienceday/