Marine Science Day at SDSU Coastal Institute

San Diego State University’s Coastal and Marine Institute will open its Point Loma campus to the public for Marine Science Day on Sunday, April 26, with free exhibits and live demonstrations. (cmi.sdsu.edu) The event starts at 11 a.m. at 4165 Spruance Road and is billed as the institute’s annual open house. Times of San Diego’s weekend guide says visitors can expect a live scuba demonstration, exhibits and a silent auction. (timesofsandiego.com) The San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering listing says the event is open to all ages, with no online registration required. The same listing names the Marine Ecology and Biology Student Association as the presenting group. (lovestemsd.org) Marine Science Day is built as a public-facing version of the institute’s regular work: showing research, lab facilities and hands-on activities tied to marine ecology and conservation. Event pages say the program also includes games, raffle prizes, research talks and touch tanks. (mebsa.wordpress.com; sandiegoreader.com) The institute itself is a research hub at San Diego State University, bringing together researchers, visiting scientists, students and volunteers working in marine science. Its website highlights projects in kelp forests, intertidal habitats, estuaries and marshes across the San Diego region. (cmi.sdsu.edu; cmi.sdsu.edu) The student group behind the event, known as MEBSA, describes itself as a student-run organization based at the institute that connects the academic community and runs marine science outreach. SDSU’s opportunities page is also recruiting student volunteers for Marine Science Day 2026 across all majors. (cmi.sdsu.edu; cmi.sdsu.edu) SDSU’s College of Sciences lists the Coastal and Marine Institute among the university’s off-campus research sites, alongside Mount Laguna Observatory and biological field stations. The university says those sites are part of its hands-on science training in the region. (sciences.sdsu.edu) For San Diegans, that means one of the university’s working marine research sites will be open for a few hours Sunday instead of staying behind lab doors. The gates open at 11 a.m. in Point Loma. (cmi.sdsu.edu; timesofsandiego.com)