SDSU Marine Science Day: Family Science Fair

San Diego families can tour a working marine lab on Sunday, April 26, when San Diego State University students open Marine Science Day to the public. (cmi.sdsu.edu) The free event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the SDSU Coastal and Marine Institute Laboratory, 4165 Spruance Road on San Diego’s bayfront. Eventbrite lists free parking and says all ages are welcome. (eventbrite.com) The program is organized by the Marine Ecology and Biology Student Association, a student group known as MEBSA. Its event page says visitors can see current research at SDSU, tour the institute’s facilities and join hands-on activities tied to marine ecology and conservation. (mebsa.wordpress.com) Marine ecology is the study of how ocean plants, animals and microbes interact with each other and with water, coastlines and climate. A public open house turns that field into exhibits, demonstrations and simple experiments that children and adults can try in one afternoon. (mebsa.wordpress.com) The event also puts one of SDSU’s off-campus research sites in front of the public. The university’s College of Sciences says the Coastal and Marine Institute is one of the research centers that connects SDSU science work to the San Diego region. (sciences.sdsu.edu) SDSU’s institute calls Marine Science Day its annual free open house, and the school is also recruiting student volunteers from all majors to help run the 2026 edition. That setup makes the event both a community fair and a campus outreach project led largely by students. (cmi.sdsu.edu, cmi.sdsu.edu) The San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering includes Marine Science Day in its 2026 lineup and lists the audience as everyone from pre-K children to adults. The festival page says no online registration is required for attendees. (lovestemsd.org) A 2025 report in The Daily Aztec described the showcase as an interactive event built around student exhibits and preparation by MEBSA members in the days before opening. This year’s version returns to the same basic formula: students explaining ocean science face to face, with families moving through the lab instead of reading about it from a distance. (thedailyaztec.com) For visitors, the practical details are simple: Sunday, April 26, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at SDSU’s coastal lab on Spruance Road. For SDSU students, it is a four-hour chance to turn marine research into something the city can walk through. (eventbrite.com, cmi.sdsu.edu)