Under crisp Fall skies last Saturday, October 12, the campus of the Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge was filled with laughter, questions, and discovery as families and visitors, old and young, came together for its annual Open House.
A Dorchester institution for a half-century, the lab is part of the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Research (UMCES). Each autumn, the research institute invites the Dorchester community to step through their doors and into a world of science for a day, so they might better understand and appreciate the wonders of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidelands in their midst.
Scores of children, with parents and grandparents in tow, lined up to see the Oyster Hatchery and touch facsimiles of Bay’s ecological and edible treasures, while others crowded around the digital sandbox or peered into microscopes to spot plankton and get a taste of what scientific research is about.
A Scavenger Hunt sent kids racing from one exhibit to another, and proudly sporting cool t-shirts afterwards. Parents and grandparents might have learned a thing or two themselves, leaning in to hear researchers and graduate students explain wave tanks, DNA studies, and oyster restoration.
Between greetings of new arrivals at the entrance, Horn Point Director Mike Sieracki said the day is as meaningful for the researchers, professors, and students in the campus community as it is for the visitors.
“We really look forward to our annual open house because we like to open our doors, take down the veil between science and the public, and invite people into our labs,” Sieracki said. “We especially love to host the kids. They aren’t afraid to ask questions, and their curiosity is inspiring. Our scientists love sharing their passion with them.”
Molly Frattasio, a graduate student research assistant working on the Blue Carbon project on Poplar Island, faced a bit of a challenge in explaining in simple terms how something invisible to the eye plays a critical role in protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems and reducing climate change.
“I tell the kids this is carbon,” holding a cut-out paper starfish with a face. “I show them how it travels from the air down into the marshes that trap it and lock it away in the mud, which fights climate change and keeps our Bay healthy. That’s why we need to protect our wetlands.”
Magdalene Ngeve, who researches how changes in climate, sea level, habitat, and pollution levels affect changes in species in the Bay’s ecosystem, had an easier sell with the “touch tank,” where the kids donned gloves and handled play grass, fish, crabs, oysters, and other Bay life.
“I got to keep a jellyfish,” four-year-old Evie Brinsfield, of Hurlock, said as she displayed her prize to The Spy.
Speaking of prizes, with a scavenger hunt, kids could win a snazzy t-shirt by successfully searching for special colors at each of the exhibits.
The event takes months of planning by researchers and students, who create hands-on exhibits as a way of giving back. Horn Point has been part of Dorchester County for more than fifty years, employing residents and partnering with schools for apprenticeships and internships.
Food from local favorites like Choptank Oyster Company, Taqueria Floritas, and Chilly Billy’s Ice Cream kept the families fueled, while some Horn Point students sold homemade treats to support their campus activities.
Located on 800 acres along the Choptank, Horn Point has long been a hub for research on estuaries and ocean ecosystems. The lab’s work on water quality, seagrass, marshes, and shellfish restoration has made it a national leader in environmental science and a cornerstone of Dorchester life.
