Each year, The Dauphin Island Sea Lab opens its doors to 3,000 plus visitors from Mobile and Baldwin counties to showcase Alabama’s marine science education and research facility. Our event is a family friendly open house which provides the public an opportunity to explore research projects through hands on exhibits, interaction with marine scientists, and by offering free child’s and discounted adult admission to the Estuarium, the Sea Lab’s public aquarium.
Inside the Estuarium, visitors will find living exhibits, interactive media, volunteer manned touch tables with living and preserved specimens and interpretive story boards in addition to 28 tanks ranging from 5 to 12,000 gallons showcasing plants, animals and other natural resources found in the four key habitats of our coastal environment; The River Delta, Mobile Bay, the Barrier Islands and the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
Graduate students from our 22 affiliated Alabama Colleges and Universities along with Marine Research Scientists provide hands on exhibits and activities related to their specific research inside actual laboratories. Participating local, state and national agencies provide fun educational activities and information. Some of the agencies that will be participating this year are: The United States Coast Guard, NOAA, Auburn University Marine & Extension research Center, Alabama Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources Marine Division, NOAA Fisheries, Pascagoula, Mobile Area Water and Sewer System, Weeks Bay and The Mobile Bay National Estuary Programs, Northern Gulf Institute, The Mobile County Public Schools Environmental Center, the National Weather Service, Alabama Ornithological Society and many more! The Sea Lab provides food, drinks and snacks at a reasonable cost so that families can afford to enjoy this event without breaking the budget.
