This summer's final public tour of the new Ocean Science and Education Campus will be at 60 Bigelow Drive in East Boothbay on Friday, Aug. 24, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. 

Visitors are invited to gather in the commons between the first two completed wings of the new campus – the Bigelow Center for Blue Biotechnology and the Center for Ocean Biogeochemistry and Climate Change.

Led by Laboratory Executive Director Dr. Graham Shimmield and members of the science and administrative teams, the tour will offer visitors an opportunity to speak with scientists and see the state-of-the-art instruments and facilities of the National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota, the Single Cell Genomics Center, the J. J. MacIsaac Facility for Aquatic Cytometry, the Geomicrobiology Research Laboratory, the Ocean and Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratory, the Remote Sensing and Ocean Observation Laboratory, and the Trace Metal Biogeochemistry Laboratory, among others.

The third science wing of the campus, the Center for Ocean Health, is scheduled for completion in mid-November of this year.

Funded by major state and federal grants and private contributions, construction of the laboratory’s campus is providing over 250 jobs in the region, and creating a combined local impact of $57 million. The campus is designed, constructed and operates to qualify for LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The tour is free and open to all – children are welcome with supervision. No pets. The campus is handicapped accessible and parking is available. For more information, contact Kimberly Reed at 202-747-3255, ext. 104.