The Marine Lab, located in Founders Hall 100, is a great place to volunteer because it has a plethora of diverse knowledge to offer, looks good on a resume and delivers waves of joy to those who volunteer.

The Marine Lab was founded in 2014 by Dr. Sean Bignami, Biology faculty member, who saw both a need and an opportunity. He said, “I felt that, as a marine biologist, I needed this resource to support more meaningful student learning, research and educational outreach opportunities in the marine sciences.” The Marine Lab is part of many of CUI’s classes such as Introduction to Biology, Marine Biology, Physical Oceanography, Zoology, Ocean Science and Research in Biology. The Marine Lab also has a robust outreach program which has served over 20,000 people across the community with the goal of increasing ocean literacy.

Bignami said, “The CUI Marine Lab is set apart from other university-run Marine Labs because it is primarily student-run and focuses on supporting undergraduate student education and research, compared with labs at other universities that are there to support faculty and graduate students, and are often run by full-time staff.” He added, “Our student volunteers receive amazing hands-on experience in our lab.”

The Marine Lab has many marine animals such as swell sharks, pismo clams, kelpfish, sea cucumbers, rays and many more. Rosemary Hernandez, the Interim Marine Lab Director, said that “my favorite are the swell sharks” because of how different they are. She cited examples of how they swell up into a U-shape when threatened. Nicole Gutierrez, the Marine Lab Manager, said her favorite animal was the Navanax which is “A little slug that [has] really pretty colors and [does] basically nothing.” As she put it, “it was just this cool little slug dude.”

Gutierrez found that her favorite parts of the Marine Lab included the knowledge gained about the unique machinery and plumbing systems, the people she has met on the job, and seeing how far she can expand the Marine Lab. Hernandez found that mentoring students on “what [she’s] learned from [her] previous classes, how the system works or what to help improve those

systems” is her favorite part of working at the lab. 

Hernandez also detailed how coming to the lab would brighten up her day. She said, “When I would come in and volunteer, I would come and clean the tanks. Just knowing that I made the fish happy made me happy.”

There are many different ways to interact with the Marine Lab without any previous biology or marine-related knowledge. Gutierrez cited chemistry majors who want to do water chemistry projects, art majors who wanted to redecorate the lab and accounting majors who could help with the financial side of the Marine Lab as some of the many ways students can interact with the lab. Bignami said “We love welcoming students, faculty and staff to visit the lab or participate as volunteers!” “Concordia is one of the only schools that offers this kind of experience so take advantage of it,” Hernandez encouraged. 

The Marine Lab has open hours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays in Founders Hall Room 100. The lab asks that you contact them before planning a visit so they can confirm availability. More information can be found online: https://www.cui.edu/academicprograms/arts-sciences/marine-lab

 

Tags: Education, Exhibits, Marine Biology

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