The Dauphin Island Sea Lab, located on a beautiful barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, offers one of the most extensive and renowned summer marine science programs in the nation.  With programs for everyone from graduate students to K-12 teachers to middle school students, the Sea Lab offers excellence in education with an ideal location for studying and interacting with marine life.

Children Ages 10 - 12 - Barrier Island Explorer  This ALL-NEW, 3-night camp is specially designed for rising 5th-6th grade students (ages 10-12). Campers will experience many of the wonders of the Gulf Coast region, in a fun and unique sleep-away setting. Go trawling aboard the Sea Lab's research vessel the Alabama Discovery, get wet  at the beaches and marshes of Dauphin Island, learn first-hand what's in the water, build and fly your very own kite and do some fun group activities too, all with members of our regular staff of marine educators. Stay in the dorms, eat in the cafeteria (probably better than your school's!), make great friends and enjoy evening fun with your counselors.

Children Ages 5-8  -  Oceans Alive!   Make exploring the beach with your children a fun and educational experience. Entertaining classroom activities are combined with an eye-opening beach excursion!  These half-day camps are held from 1:00 pm until 4:30 pm and are limited; admissions are taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. Parents/guardians are required to attend, must be 18 years of age and may bring no more than 3 children.  Cost: $35 per student.  Includes T-shirt, Estuarium pass, snack and certificate. 
Dates: June 2; June 18; July 16; August 2.

Children Ages 9-11 - Treasure Island. High-tech meets history at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab!  Kids ages 9-11 are invited to go on a treasure hunt on the sandy beaches of Dauphin Island.  We’ll use Global Positioning System technology to hunt for buried treasure while learning about the history and ecology of the Island.  This half-day adventure will take place from 1:00 to 4:30pm; an adult must accompany child. Cost: $35 per student.  Includes T-shirt, Estuarium pass, snack and certificate.   Dates: June 11; June 21; July 9; August 4.

Children Ages 8-13 – Art-Sea Discovery Camp.  Appreciate the beauty of nature with exploration and art in this exciting new daylong camp.  Participants will investigate and sketch the wonders of the maritime forest and beaches of Dauphin Island and then create a variety of unique environmentally themed art projects.  Cost: $50 per student.  Includes all art materials (including a canvas bag), T-shirt, morning and afternoon snacks, Estuarium pass, snack and certificate.   Dates: June 4; July 19; July 30.

Middle School Students – Gulf Island Journey. Join the Sea Lab team for beach scavenger hunts, ghost crab crawls, marsh mushing and collection trips aboard our research vessel A.E. Verrill.  The group will visit a historic civil war fort and travel to another small island off the coast of Dauphin Island to see nesting sea birds and collect shells.  This exciting and educational residential program instills a basic understanding of marine science with lots of hands-on activities.  There are only 30 slots for each one-week program, so sign up early.  Designed for rising 7th, 8th & 9th grade students.  Cost: $550, includes tuition, room, meals and lab fees. Dates: June 27-July 2; July 11-16; July 18-23; July 25-30.  Application deadline: May 14.

High School Students – An intensive summer course introducing the student to the marine environment through classroom lecture, laboratory, and field activities is available to rising 10-12th grade students.  The length of the course is four weeks, during which time the students live on campus and participate in over 160 hours of supervised academic activities.  Classes are taught in an academic setting and are designed to give the student a better understanding and appreciation of the various fields in marine science.  The Alabama State Department of Education approves the Discovery Hall Summer Programs and recommends that local systems grant participating students credit toward either an Advanced or Standard High School Diploma.  Cost: $2050. Dates: June 6, 1020 – July 2. Application deadline: April 9.

K-12 Educators – A variety of exciting courses is available to all teachers throughout the summer.  Whether the topic is Beaches, Birds and Barrier Islands or Rhizomes, Reefs and Restoration, teachers will be able to bring the oceans back into the classrooms, as well as earn credit.  Educators will collect specimens for their classes and receive an extensive teaching curriculum. Graduate semester hours are available for all courses.

• The Delta – June 6-10; $550, including meals and housing. Deadline for registration May 21.
• Beaches, Birds and Barrier Islands – June 14-18; $550, including meals and housing. Deadline for registration May 28.
• Regional Issues in the Gulf of Mexico – July 6-9; FREE (funded by the Northern Gulf Institute). Deadline for registration June 18.
• Fins, Fishes and Fisheries - July 11-15; FREE (funded by MS-AL Sea Grant Consortium). Deadline for registration June 25.
• Rhizomes, Reefs and Restoration- July 26-30; FREE (funded by MS-AL Sea Grant Consortium). Deadline for registration July 19.

 

Check our website at http://dhp.disl.org/teachertraining.htm for more information.

College and Graduate Students - University Programs of the Sea Lab offers numerous courses for credit for undergraduates and graduate students during the summer, ranging from Shark and Ray Biology to Coastal Wetlands Ecology to Hurricanes of the Gulf Coast.  Courses in this intense program will be offered from May to August; individualized directed research opportunities with resident faculty are also available. Sessions will run May 17-May 28; May 31-July 2; and July 5-August 6.

General Public – Be sure to visit the Estuarium, the aquarium of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, for an exciting look at the animals and habitats of the Mobile Bay estuary.  The Estuarium is a cool place to be on a hot summer day!  Open seven days a week. For more information: 866-403-4409 or visit.www.sealabestuarium.org.

For those looking for a great family outing in the field, join one of our Summer Excursion Programs.  We offer trips to the biologically rich Dauphin Island Salt Marsh (June 15, July 26, or August 3) or a fascinating tour of the Island’s Beach, Dune and Forest habitats (June 7, June 22, July 12 or July 20).  Excursion cost: $10/person.

For more information on any of these programs, go to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab web site at www.disl.org, or call (251) 861-2141. 

**Costs and schedules on all programs are subject to change.