Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of Horn Point Laboratory with enthusiastic graduate students as our guides.

It has been several years since we have met up at Horn Point Laboratory for a tour of one of our country’s leading environmental research facilities.

“Today it is generally recognized that the sea is no longer a ‘barren vastness,’ but instead, a fertile valley seething with life, in the main uncharted… Opportunities for applied science could barely be better elsewhere than in the Chesapeake Bay country.” Dr. Reginald V. Truitt, in 1932

Horn Point Laboratory (HPL), located on more than 800 acres on the banks of the Choptank River, has advanced society’s understanding of the world’s estuarine and ocean ecosystems.  Horn Point scientists are widely respected for their interdisciplinary programs in oceanography, water quality, restoration, and for expertise in ecosystem modeling.  With on-going research spanning from the estuarine waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the open waters of the world’s oceans, Horn Point is a national leader in applying environmental research and discovery to solve some of our most pressing environmental problems.

Graduate students will give us a behind-the-scenes tour of HPL. You will explore oysters in the Atlantic Coast’s largest hatchery, physical oceanography, coastal resilience, water quality, and how this all affects the Bay.

What to Expect: Learn about the critical research being conducted at Horn Point and how it affects the Bay, as well as the oyster restoration work being conducted at Horn Point. Bring lunch and sit under the Pergola to continue discussions with the grad students you met during your tour.

DIRECTIONS to the Horn Point Laboratory from points north or west:

Step One: Take Route 50 heading east (toward Ocean City), passing over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. After the bridge, continue on Route 50 for about 40 miles. Coming into Cambridge you will cross the Choptank River bridge. Go one block and turn right onto Maryland Avenue. Go through the light. Cross the drawbridge. Stay straight going through another light until you come to a “T” at Gay Street. You will see an old firehouse straight ahead. Turn left. Go one block to a light at Race Street. Your landmark is a store named Sunnyside in front of you. Turn left on Race. At the third stop light turn right onto Washington Street. (Rte 343).

Step Two: Stay on this road for about 3 miles. The road will come to a V at a little store. Look for the UMCES sign on the right side of the road and bear right on Horns Point Rd. Continue for about 1.5 miles. The entrance to the lab is flanked by two statues of sheep. Come in the lane. Turn at the first right at Coastal and Estuarine Sciences and Horn Point Offices sign. In front of the building on your left you will see visitor parking spaces and the entry into the building by the heron sculpture.

1 session | Monday | October 7 | 11- 12:30 pm | IN PERSON (at Horn Point Laboratory, 2020 Horns Point Rd, Cambridge, MD 21613) | $20