After a break in 2024, Bigelow Laboratory’s annual Open House is back from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, July 11. Visitors of all ages are invited to visit the institute’s East Boothbay campus at 60 Bigelow Drive to meet researchers and engage in a day of fun science activities. The staff looks forward to visitors explore the brand-new Harold Alfond Center for Ocean Education and Innovation, which opened this spring and represents a 40% increase in Bigelow Laboratory’s footprint.

This free event is open to the public and made possible through sponsorship by Knickerbocker Group. Details on the event, a schedule and registration are available at bigelow.org/openhouse.

Bigelow staff will lead a range of scientific demonstrations and activities for visitors of all ages, such as creating seaweed art, viewing live plankton under a microscope and sampling water with real oceanographic equipment off the dock. Throughout the day, staff will also be giving brief, accessible science talks to introduce the public to ongoing research. As in past years, attendees can meet Henry and Grampus, two autonomous underwater gliders used to study the Gulf of Maine, and they can explore Bigelow’s collection — one of the world’s largest and most diverse — of marine phytoplankton. Other talks will look at what scientists are learning from environmental DNA, how they’re addressing water quality challenges in the Boothbay region, and how they study and manage the infectious diseases impacting marine life.

President and CEO Deborah Bronk will give a brief presentation at noon highlighting the value of scientific discovery and celebrating the exciting advances that the Harold Alfond Center will enable going forward.

“We had to skip the event last year because of construction, but our annual open house is one of my favorite days of the year, and I love to see our lab filled with people of all ages getting inspired by ocean science,” Bronk said. “Our Harold Alfond Center for Ocean and Education is a launchpad for innovation and a new home for learning, so I’m thrilled to be able to share it with our community this year!”

The new Harold Alfond Center, a significant expansion to the Bigelow Laboratory campus, includes state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, dedicated teaching labs and classrooms, and a 300-seat forum that will become a hub for community outreach and scientific collaboration.