EXPERIENCE THE OREGON COAST'S "TIDE POOLS OF LIFE"

Invitation from Hatfield Marine Science Center, Marine Discovery Tours, Oregon Coast Aquarium and Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area to explore Oregon's tide pools.

Newport, OR -- Head to the Oregon coast and experience four times the fun with hands-on tidepooling adventures at Yaquina Head, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Marine Discovery tours and the Hatfield Marine Science Center. Learn what a sea star feels like, touch a hermit crab, pull a crab pot and come face-to-fin with seals and sea lions. Located at the heart of the Oregon coast, Newport offers sand, surf and marine science fun.

Oregon's "Tide Pools of Life" are everyday occurrences on sea-life cruises offered by Marine Discovery Tours, in the public exhibits and programs offered by the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon Coast Aquarium, and at the Bureau of Land Management's Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area.

Marine Discovery Tours, the official cruise company of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, offers Pacific Ocean and Yaquina Bay and River cruises narrated by naturalist guides. The unique 65-foot Discovery departs from Newport's historic Bayfront, a bustling maritime neighborhood. The easy-access boat is equipped with the latest audio-visual aids, including big-screen television for viewing micro' marine life, satellite locator maps and nature videos. Passengers are invited to explore the marine world through fun, hands-on activities. Indoor and outdoor seating insures personal comfort. Two-hour sea-life cruises are offered daily from March through October-the season when gray whales and coastal sea life are closest to shore during the best boating conditions. Marine education field trips can be scheduled for schools, groups and special event private charters.

Hatfield Marine Science Center creates a unique, dynamic environment for lifelong exploration and discovery, with a visitor center that encourages everyone to enjoy marine science. Exhibits, touch pools and public programs explain how natural patterns shape the world and enable people to better appreciate, manage and sustain coastal and marine resources. The Center is open every day, from Memorial Day weekend through September 30, reducing operations to Thursday through Monday after October 1. It's located just south of the Yaquina Bay bridge and offers guided estuary and dock walks on a regular basis.

Oregon Coast Aquarium is named one of the top 10 aquariums in the nation by Parade magazine, and features public exhibits and programs year round. Visitors stroll through three coastal galleries of marine life, get hands-on at a touch pool or become surrounded by sharks in Passages of the Deep, where they walk beneath the waves in a 200-foot clear underwater tunnel. Rugged cliffs, caves and pools outdoors showcase the many fascinating fish, invertebrates, sea otters, seals, sea lions and marine birds of Oregon's coastal shores. The Aquarium is open every day of the year except for December 25.

Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is a narrow point of land jutting due west into the Pacific Ocean on the north end of Newport, this headland provides visitors with one of the most accessible, safe wildlife and ocean-viewing locations on the Pacific Coast. Handicap-accessible tidepools constructed at Quarry Cove are being occupied by an ever-increasing array of marine life including kelp crabs, sea urchins, sea anemones and an occasional sea star or octopus. Wildlife-watchers experience incredibly close views of nesting sea birds, and marine mammals resting on the offshore rocks, as well as the annual migrations of gray whales. Open year-round from dawn to dusk, with the Yaquina Head Interpretive Center open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse opening at noon daily.

For additional information, images and/or details on how to experience Oregon's "Tide Pools of Life," contact:

BLM Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area
http://www.or.blm.gov/salem/html/yaquina
541-574-3100
jashor@or.blm.gov
image link:
http://www.aquarium.org/press/pictures/AquariumSampler/TidepoolingAtYaquinaHeadOutstaningNaturalAreaProvidedByBLM.jpg

Marine Discovery Tours
http://www.marinediscovery.com
800-903-2628
captain@marinediscovery.com
image link: http://www.aquarium.org/press/pictures/AquariumCruisesWithDiscovery/CrabbingExplainedonOregonCoastAquariumSeaLifeCruise.jpg

Oregon Coast Aquarium
http://www.aquarium.org
541-867-3474 ext 5224
guyd@aquarium.org
image link:
http://www.aquarium.org/press/pictures/AquariumVolunteersPictures/YouthVolunteerWithYoungstersAtOregonCoastAquariumTouchPoolByMichaelDurham.jpg

OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center
http://www.hmsc.orst.edu/visitor
541-867-0271
terri.nogler@hmsc.orst.edu
image link:
http://www.aquarium.org/press/pictures/AquariumSampler/HatfieldMarineScienceCenterOctopus400.jpg

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