Thursday, april 8, 2021 • ThE BullETiN
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 11
Submitted photo
Catch sea creatures such as this octopus in Hatfield Marine Science Center’s online Marine Science Day on Saturday.
Continued from previous page
Normally, the event would be held
live at Hatfield, but the coronavirus tsu-
nami washed away those plans, accord-
ing to Cinamon Moffett, research pro-
gram manager at the Newport research
and education institution.
“It has happened every year for
many, many years, on the same week-
end,” Moffett said.
“Last year, we canceled it because
COVID kind of took us off our game a
little bit. And then this year we decided
early on that we were going to switch it
to a virtual event, just because we didn’t
want to lose another year.”
The gulf between in-person and vir-
tual events is perhaps not as wide as
you’d think: The scope of Marine Sci-
ence Day is ambitious, with five virtual
“rooms” full of programs and activities,
including the Main Stage, where re-
searchers will be sharing their work on
sharks, whales, sea stars and more.
Though the push to make Marine
Science Day virtual began in the last
few months, Moffett began paddling
toward that goal early, enrolling in
courses on how to put on a virtual con-
ference just two weeks after last year’s
event was canceled.
The effort shows. Over in the Exhibit
Hall, check out the dozens of interac-
tive displays about marine mammals
and fisheries, plus plankton, scientific
diving, seabirds and ocean technology.
There’s also the Kid Zone, with live an-
imal interactions, lessons on how to
draw like an octopus and information
on careers in marine science. Another
room is dedicated to virtual tours of the
center’s research and educational facili-
ties, and, finally, there’s a room devoted
to seeing — and even sharing — art
devoted to the the event’s theme, “The
Beauty of Science.” To attend or learn
more, visit hmsc.oregonstate.edu/ma-
rine-science-day.
“It is a free event, so anybody can
come. It is tailored to just about any-
one,” Moffett said, adding with a
laugh, “That sounds weird, that it’s tai-
lored, but it is lifelong learners, it is K
through 12 students, and it is our po-
tential undergrads that are interested
in what it means to go into marine
science.”
Moffett and other organizers expect
Marine Science Day to hit those target
audiences.
“This is a really asynchronous
event, and in those five different
rooms, there are events either on-
your-own activities or prerecorded,
or things you can download or en-
gage with, or live events in each one of
those different rooms, all happening
at the same time.”
e e
David Jasper: 541-383-0349,
djasper@bendbulletin.com
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