Bioluminescence, the movement of periwinkles, microplastics in the ocean, green crabs and soft-shell clams — these and others are subjects that Coastal Studies for Girls in Freeport offers in an intensive semester long program.

On Sunday, July 27, Coastal Studies for Girls will host an open house on campus, offering guided tours of their facilities and discussing the marine science and leadership based curriculum taught there.

“Semester schools tend to have one subject that is studied in depth,” said Jennifer Mathews, CSG’s business and outreach manager. “Here, our focus is marine science and leadership — within that, students are also studying the literature of the land and history of the Maine coast. It is a very intricately designed interdisciplinary program.”

CSG, which has been operating for five years, accepts 15 sophomore high school students from across the country each semester. Typically, CSG has three to five students enrolled from Maine, often from island communities, Freeport, and several from Brunswick, Mathews said.

For the 16-week-long semester, students live on the CSG campus, comprised of a farmhouse and 30-foot yurt, said Mathews. During the semester, students are broken into core groups that design and carry out original research projects.

At the end of the semester, students give a public presentation of their findings, either at the Freeport Community Library or at the Freeport Community Center, which is streamed live.

“We’re the only all-girls semester school in the country,” said Mathews, “and we’re the only semester school that is for 10th graders.”

Research has shown that girls increasingly drop out of science classes as they progress through secondary schooling, said Mathews.

“The idea was to offer a science based experience for girls designed to address” this trend of uninvolvement, said Mathews. “And since it’s a 10th-grade program, girls have two solid years to return to and engage in the sciences at their sending schools.”

This fall, CSG will be celebrating its 10th semester, Mathews said, and the program now has more than 120 alumni.

Tours will run every 20 minutes between noon and 3 p.m., on Sunday, July 27, guided by CSG admission team members. John Wensman, the director of education, will also be available to answer questions about the program’s curriculum.

Coastal Studies for Girls is located at 308 Wolfe’s Neck Road in Freeport. For more information, visit www.coastalstudiesforgirls.o rg or call (207) 865-9700.