The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory recently hosted its annual Open House event, welcoming the public onto its 800+ acre campus set along the banks of the Choptank River in Cambridge, MD. The entirely free, family-friendly event saw approximately 700 adults and children of all ages pass through its gates as research scientists, faculty, and graduate students gave tours and presented their work in interactive ways.
“Lots of great questions and smiling faces from an appreciative and enthusiastic public,” said Horn Point Laboratory Director Mike Roman. “Every year we reach more people, have returning fans, and teach new, exciting facts about the great work we do at Horn Point.”
The Open House included tours of the largest oyster hatchery on the East Coast, which produces a variety of oyster larvae for use in oyster research, oyster restoration, and educational projects. Entertaining and educational programming included a scavenger hunt for kids that took them to all parts of the campus to complete a marine biology-focused puzzle, which when completed, rewarded them with a free t-shirt.
Oceanographer Ming Li and his lab created a series of interactive maps that modeled sea level rise, showing guests what different locations should expect to experience in future years. Children also got to play in a digital sandbox, creating shorelines to model weather’s impact around the Bay with laser imaging.
Horn Point Laboratory scientists engage in world-renowned research in oceanography, water quality, restoration of sea grasses, marshes and shellfish, and expertise in ecosystem modeling.
