Highline Community College’s Marine Science and Technology (MaST) Center is presenting a special seminar on “Jumbo” Squid with David Eric Hamm, NOAA Fisheries Research Scientist/Contractor, this Saturday, Oct. 17th at their location near the Redondo Beach Pier in Des Moines.

Rumor has it that there may even be a dissection taking place.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Special seminar on “Jumbo” (aka Humboldt) Squid with David Eric Hamm, NOAA Fisheries Research Scientist/Contractor

WHEN: Saturday, October 17 12:00 – 12:45

WHERE: Highline Community College MaST Center, located near the Redondo Beach Park in Des Moines

INFO: From their website:

They’re Big, They’re Here and They’re Squid Jumbo Squid as Harbingers of Ecosystem Change! Dosidicus gigas, the Humboldt or Jumbo squid is a voracious predator with a unique ecology.

The ongoing range expansion of this creature, coincident with changes in the California Current suggest that something larger is afoot.

Are these changes indication of global change? What will the impact be to our fisheries and the ecosystem of the West Coast? Come to the MaST Center, and find out.

Please join us to hear David Eric Hamm, NOAA Fisheries Research Scientist/Contractor

More info here.

Photo credit: OAR/NURP; Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game

Father’s Day is this coming weekend, and what better way to celebrate than by comparing dear ol’ Dad to a lingcod?

Highline Community College’s Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST), located in Redondo Beach (in Des Moines), is holding a special “Fatherhood Under the Sea” presentation from Noon to 12:45pm this Saturday, June 20th, and it’s FREE.

Here are the details:

WHAT: “Fatherhood Under the Sea” – learn why lingcods make such great fathers from Edmonds Underwater Park volunteers Ken Collins and Kirby Johnson during this special Father’s Day weekend presentation.

WHEN: Saturday, June 20th from Noon to 12:45pm

WHERE: Highline Community College’s Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST), located at 28203 Redondo Beach Drive South in Des Moines

COST: FREE

INFO: http://mast.highline.edu

Here are the details:

WHAT: World Ocean Day celebration at MaST

WHEN: Monday, June 8th from 10am to Noon

WHERE: Highline Community College’s Marine Science and Technology Center, located next to Salty’s on Redondo Beach.

INFO: The event features tank tours by Nautilus 6th graders, live video of underwater dives and refreshments.

Highline Community College is proud to join leading educational institutions, conservation organizations, and individuals in dozens of countries around the world to celebrate our shared ocean.

World Oceans Day is an opportunity to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea.

Join the celebration!

More information available at the MaST website.

“Science on the Sound” is a semi-monthly seminar that features experts discussing issues pertinent to the Puget Sound and the region.

Upcoming speakers for Science on the Sound include:

Feb. 7: Sea Otter Recovery
: Caroline Hempstead, who specializes in marine mammals at the Seattle Aquarium, discusses efforts to establish a permanent population of sea otters on the Washington coast.

Feb. 21: Oceans and Human Health
: Usha Varanasi, director of Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, discusses the importance of healthy oceans to our personal health and the health of our societies.

March 7: Puget Sound Octopus
: Learn the basics of octopus anatomy and behavior from Seattle Aquarium naturalist Giovannina Souers. She will also share stories about octopuses at the Seattle Aquarium.

March 21: Working the Sea, Writing the Sea: 
Writer and sailor Holly Hughes will share her experiences of living and working on the sea, as well as her writing and poetry.

Sponsored by: HCC’s Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST)

Here are the details:

WHAT: Science on the Sound speaker series

WHEN: Feb. 7 and 21; March 7 and 21, Noon to 1 p.m.

COST: FREE

WHERE: Highline’s MaST Center is located on Redondo Beach in Des Moines; address: 28203 Redondo Beach Drive S., Des Moines, WA 98198.

INFO: www.highline.edu/mast/

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Festivities will go on all day until 7pm, and more info is available here (as a PDF file).

Located just four miles south of HCC’s campus at Redondo Beach and halfway between Seattle and Tacoma, the MaST Center is dedicated to expanding knowledge about the Puget Sound and the surrounding environment through teaching, outreach, and research.

The brand new, 2,500 square-foot facility, situated on a 260-foot pier over the Puget Sound, will offer public space, classroom, laboratories, and office and research areas.

With more than 2,000 gallons of flow-through saltwater tanks, holding more than 80 species of local marine life and easy access to a huge diversity of nearby habitats, and state-of-the-art equipment, the opportunity for research and education is almost limitless.

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