DANA POINT, Calif. – The Ocean Institute will join with the Southern California Aquarium Collaborative to present a lecture by Dr. Jayson Smith on Rocky Intertidal Habitats: Long Term Change, Impacts of Human Visitation and Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas on Thursday, January 17, 7 p.m. It is part of the Institute’s 2012-13 Marine Protected Areas Lecture Series and is two days before the Institute’s Underwater Parks Day observance.
Dr. Smith is a marine conservation ecologist from Cal Poly Pomona. He conducts research on rocky intertidal habitats along the California coast with particular interest in the effects of urbanization on rocky shore population and community dynamics. He will discuss his research examining changes in community structures over the past several decades and the impacts and management of human visitors to local shores.
Admission is free. For additional information, please visit www.ocean-institute.org.
Ocean Institute to Participate in
City of Dana Point’s Festival of Whales
The Ocean Institute is pleased participate in the City of Dana Point’s annual Festival of Whales celebration (see www.dpfestivalofwhales.com) the weekends of March 2 & 3 and 9 & 10, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. each day. The event celebrates the annual migration of the gray whales off our coast.
- Explore the unique adaptations, behaviors, and importance of cetaceans throughout family friendly hands-on activities.
- Participate in maritime-themed activities and tours aboard the brig Pilgrim.
- Create fun children’s crafts, interact with marine life at the tidepool touch tanks, watch animal feedings and drive remotely operated vehicles.
- Take a Seashore Interpretive Family Hike, a guided hike through the Dana Point Marine Protected Area with an Ocean Institute naturalist.
- Set sail aboard a Whale’s Tale Sailing Adventure to learn the historical relationship between whales and tall ships.
- Head to sea on a Marine Mammal Cruise to view these magnificent animals first-hand.
Cost is $6.50 adults, $4.50 children (ages 4-12); Ocean Institute members free. Cruises and sails are an additional cost; visit www.ocean-institute.org or call (949) 496-2274 for prices and schedule.
Whale’s Tale Sailing Adventure Onboard the
Ocean Institute’s Tall Ship Spirit of Dana Point
The Ocean Institute is offering a Whale’s Tale Sailing Adventure onboard its tall ship Spirit of Dana Point on Sunday, March 3 & Saturday, March 9, 2 – 4:30 p.m. From “Devil Fish” to “Friendliest Whale,” explore how time and discovery has shaped man’s perception of the magnificent gray whale. Participants will enjoy an exciting tall ship sail and gain new insight on man’s evolving relationship with the ocean and the whales that travel our California coastline. The cruises are being offered in conjunction with the Institute’s participation in the City of Dana Point’s Festival of Whales celebration.
Cost is $40 adults, $23 for children ages 4-12 and includes admission to the Ocean Institute. (Members: $36 adults, $21 children.) For additional information, call (949) 496-2274 or visit www.ocean-institute.org.
Founded in 1977, the Ocean Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to ocean preservation through education, setting the standard for educational excellence and serving as a leading resource for universities, museums, teachers and all others seeking to increase their knowledge of the ocean. The Ocean Institute is open to the general public on weekends, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Cost: $6.50 adults, $4.50 children (ages 4-12), Ocean Institute members free. Unique maritime and ocean-themed items are available in the Chambers Gallery everyday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Institute address: 24200 Dana Point Harbor Dr., Dana Point. Website: www.ocean-institute.org. Phone number: (949) 496-2274.
Jim Graves
