DAY TRIP The Ocean Institute

The Ocean Institute provides learning facilities for science and history to more than 80,000 students a year. Founded in 1977 on 2.4 acres of Dana Point Harbor, it’s open to the public on weekends.

 HOURS

Weekends 10 a.m. to 3 p.m; weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for school programs and summer camps only.

 ADMISSION

General fee: $6 for persons 13 or older; $4 for youths 3 to 12. Children younger than 2 and members get in free.

 GETTING THERE

Take CA-73 south to I-5. Head south on I-5 and take exit 79 to merge with CA-1, Camino Las Ramblas toward Pacific Coast Highway. Follow CA-1 until you hit Dana Point Harbor Drive and turn left. Follow the road until the institute’s parking lot.

 WEATHER AND WATERSHEDS

Running till the end of October, the Weather and Watersheds program offers an array of learning resources and activities following undersea life, weather patterns and life at sea. Three labs are offered focusing on different aspects of Weather and Watersheds. The Watershed lab focuses on environmental issues and pollutants; another is on weather forecasting, and the role of fresh water is discussed in the Water Cycle lab. LiteraSEA is a special program on reading and the importance of scientific literature when used in research.

The institute also offers activities around its various pools that feature aquatic life including the Skate and Ray Touch Pool, the “Good Tidepooler” surge tank and an opportunity for patrons to feed octopus and jellyfish.

The Ocean Tank allows individuals to drive an underwater vehicle operated by remote. Lighter educational opportunities include tide-pool hopscotch, whale bone matching, earthquake measurement, a 3-D earth room and the chance to touch marine animals.

 SPECIAL EVENTS

On Sundays, the Ocean Institute offers two programs about life at sea. Based on the book of the same name, “20 Minutes Before the Mast” follows the life of merchant sailors during the 1830s on a simulated voyage around Cape Horn. Participants serve as members of the ship while collecting goods and following captain’s orders. This program is offered twice on Sundays. Also on Sundays is “Below the Decks: Life at Sea” on the historic tall ship Pilgrim, where individuals learn tools of the seafaring trade.

 TALLSHIP PILGRIM

According to the Ocean Institute, the Pilgrim is a full-sized replica of the hide brig — a dual-mast vessel, square rigged on both sides — made famous by the book “Two Years Before the Mast” by Richard Henry Dana Jr. The original ship set sail in 1825 as a trade ship when the cattle hide industry was in its prime. Calling Boston its home, the ship was built at a price of $50,000 and stretched to 90 feet, shorter than most brigs that were normally 110 feet. The Pilgrim was recorded lost at sea in 1856 as a result of fire.

In 1981 it came to Dana Point and was taken in by the Ocean Institute as an educational facility.

 INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR

Starting in October and running until February, the International Polar Year examines the polar regions of the earth sponsored by the International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organization. More than 200 projects will conduct the research and include 60 nations.

— Daniel Tedford

For a photo slideshow, click here.