Visitors to the Charleston Marine Life Center can touch tidepool animals, examine the skeletons of whales and learn about marine life found along the Oregon coast — all while getting a behind-the-scenes look at research taking place next door.
Located on the campus of the University of Oregon's Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, the center opened in 2016 to connect the public with marine science through interactive exhibits and educational programs.
"Our primary mission is to serve as an education resource," Director Trish Mace said. "It's a very interactive place, but it's all geared to informing people about the remarkable diversity of marine life here on the Oregon coast."
The center features touch tanks, a 10-foot humpback whale skull and the skeletons of orcas and gray whales. Students from the institute also gain hands-on experience caring for animals and communicating science to visitors.
The center also partners with the Coquille Indian Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians on programs that combine marine science with traditional ecological knowledge.
"We work with the Coquille Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw on a range of education projects where we work to get youth outdoors and combine marine science and traditional knowledge," Mace said.
"We work with the Coquille Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw on a range of education projects where we work to get youth outdoors and combine marine science and traditional knowledge," Mace said.
Admission is free for students from preschool through graduate school. Mace said she hopes to strengthen the center's partnerships and ensure it remains a long-term resource for the South Coast.
"My goal would be to help make sure the center is on stable financial footing so that we can be here as a longtime resource and to broaden all the partnerships so that it really is a community center," she said.
Guest
- Trish Mace, director, Charleston Marine Life Center
