Students explore a marine organism in the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium's S. Mark Taper Foundation Science Lab. Photo: Heal the Bay
Entrance to the S. Mark Taper Foundation Science Lab at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium Photo: Heal the Bay

Whether by a student engaged in an educational program, or a visitor during our public hours, the new S. Mark Taper Foundation Science Lab is becoming a center of learning and discovery to all who visit the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. This hands-on, interactive science lab is made possible by a generous grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation.

The S. Mark Taper Foundation has been a supporter of Heal the Bay for more than 10 years, supporting our education programs as well as the design and upkeep of our website. The generous $100,000 grant to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium enables Heal the Bay to offer a new and exciting type of science education to the many visitors to the Aquarium.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of this innovative teaching aquarium. We are confident that the S. Mark Taper Foundation Science Lab will inspire and educate the hundreds of children that visit the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium each day,” said Ray Reisler, Executive Director of the S. Mark Taper Foundation.

“During a time when school funding is being cut back, the S. Mark Taper Foundation grant has provided Heal the Bay with an amazing opportunity to offer vital scientific education to school groups and the general public,” said Heal the Bay Executive Director Mark Gold. “Thanks to the Foundation’s generosity, the Aquarium now has an entire area full of high-tech microscopes, computers and flat panel viewing screens to educate and inspire all Southern Californians.”

Specifically, the new lab is equipped with six state-of-the-art, high-powered microscopes, each of which is connected not only to its own 17” flat screen monitor but also to a 32” plasma television screen mounted on the wall . Two of the flat screen monitors are also equipped with internet access so that students can research their observations as they make them. This new, interactive workspace allows for students, educators and the public-at-large to have a hands-on experience not readily available elsewhere. “The S. Mark Taper Foundation Science Lab offers students the equipment and technology that they are often not exposed to in their classroom settings,” said Aquarium Director Vicki Wawerchak.

The lab will be used to teach scientific methodology during the Aquarium’s education programs, which are available to students from 5th grade through college. Curriculum specifically designed for groups of approximately 15 people has been integrated into the topics offered for school field trips, and opens up a new realm of marine study at the Aquarium. Additionally, during public hours, the large wall monitor will allow the Aquarium to run presentations, slide shows or videos throughout the day that deliver public service messages on environmental issues as well as screen short marine-themed movies about habitats and marine animals. The computers will be available for visitors to access a large number of related websites such as Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card and other environmental resources.

Thanks also go to HO+K Interiors for their generous donation of time and creative expertise in the design of the new space, as well as Naylor Paint’s and Slaback Drywall for paint and other services.

Over the course of a year, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Science Lab will serve approximately 15,000 students from Los Angeles County and beyond, as well as an additional 50,000 people who will visit the Aquarium during its public hours, birthday parties and other special events. It is an integral component in creating the next generation of marine and environmental scientists by bringing microbiology to the forefront of study. “The very foundation of the ocean environment is microscopic organisms,” continued Wawerchak, “And all people are more connected to their environment, and experience a greater awareness of responsibility, when they are given an opportunity to experience it hands-on.”

The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (located beach level at the Santa Monica Pier) is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday during public hours. Reservations are required for school groups interested in attending an education program.