Area 20 ha Municipality Newport | Phone +1 541-867-0100 Established 1965 | |
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Address 2030 SE Marine Science Dr, Newport, OR 97365, USA Hours Closed now Friday10AM–4PMSaturday10AM–4PMSunday10AM–4PMMonday10AM–4PMTuesdayClosedWednesdayClosedThursday10AM–4PM Similar Oregon Coast Aquarium, Yaquina Head Light, Yaquina Head, Yaquina Bay Bridge, South Beach State Park | ||
Hatfield marine science center newport oregon
Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) is a marine science research and education center next to Yaquina Bay of the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is operated by Oregon State University (OSU) in cooperation with five state and federal agencies co-located on site. Named after Mark Hatfield, a former U.S. Senator from Oregon, the HMSC occupies a 49-acre (20 ha) site in Newport.
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Visitor Center
Opened in 1965, the Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center is the public education wing of the HMSC. The visitor center's exhibits focus on marine species, marine research, and the coastal environment. Live marine animals on display include a Giant Pacific Octopus. Other exhibits focus on weather, tsunami, commercial fishing, ocean resource management, microscopic sea life, and tide-pool creatures and habitats. The visitor center offers public programs and tours and is open year-round. Admission is by donation.
Employees
More than 300 people work at the HMSC, including OSU faculty, graduate students, researchers, and staff from agencies including Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA employees at the HMSC are affiliated with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, or the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, all of which are headquartered in Seattle, Washington, though NOAA itself is now located in Newport. The HMSC (and the Seafood Research & Education Center in Astoria) are home to the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station (COMES), the largest of 12 branch agricultural research stations in Oregon.
The OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences operates the Research Vessel Wecoma which has its home port adjacent to the center. The college also operates the Research Vessel Elakha (Sea Otter) out of Newport.