The purpose of the Hatfield Marine Science Center Master Plan is to provide a plan to guide future development to support the marine science research, education and outreach initiatives through fiscal year 2022.
With 150 million people visiting accredited zoos and aquariums annually, these institutions have the unique opportunity to present conservation-oriented messages to a large and receptive audience. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of interpretation and/or the viewing of live animals in the communication of these messages....
Ocean observing groups are currently making efforts to work with well-defined end-user groups, like boaters and fishermen, to provide meaningful and effective real-time data (RTD) products and visualizations. However, providing meaningful data products for undefined groups such as the general public is not straightforward. In Oregon, several industry, science, and...
"Erosion is impacting a portion of the Estuary Nature Trail located adjacent to Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) facility, located on the south side of the Yaquina Bay estuary approximately one mile from the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. The HMSC Estuary Nature Trail is important...
Outreach is a small, but significant component to modern research.
Developing an exhibit for public display can be an effective way to communicate science to broad audiences, although it may be a less familiar method to scientists than writing papers or giving presentations. I outline the process of developing an...
Visitor behavior research has become an essential
component to many museum programs. Since its opening to the
public in 1965, Oregon State University's Mark O. Hatfield
Marine Science Center Aquarium in Newport, it has been
visited by millions of people. A clear understanding of who
this audience was and what...
Museum settings including aquariums, zoos and science centers rely heavily on their volunteer docent populations to interact with and communicate science and conservation concepts to the visiting public. The interactions docents have with museum visitors are important to meeting the educational expectations of museums and improving public science literacy as...
"The MSC was created through the impetus of three needs. Wayne Burt of the newly formed Oceanography Department needed dock and ship support facilities for his NSF-funded research vessel on the coast. Roland Dimick of the Fisheries and Wildlife Department needed to expand his small bay research lab located at...
In the past two decades, occurrences of summertime upwelling-driven low dissolved oxygen (DO) events, or hypoxia, have increased along the northeast Pacific coast. If hypoxic events are severe enough to cause marine species mortality, the areas affected are often called "dead zones." In 2002 and again in 2006, the events...
This resolution is a tribute to the accomplishments and memory of Dr. Lavern J. Weber, first resident director of the Hatfield Marine Science Center. The House bill was subsequently adopted by the Oregon Senate.
Museums, aquariums, and technology centers are informal learning environments that facilitate the understanding of scientific phenomena while supporting self-motivated learning. Families are a social group that frequently visits these sites. There are multiple opportunities for adults and children to engage in independent sense-making and collective discussion about their experiences with...
Using data from two types of surveys and the IMPLAN (IMpact analysis for PLANning) inputoutput model, we estimated the annual economic contributions of Oregon Sea Grant’s Visitor Center at Oregon State University’s (OSU) Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) in Newport. The Visitor Center attracts approximately 150,000 visitors a year, almost...