Marine Science Institute

I've gone to see all of Marine Science Institute's programs and have had the pleasure of working with the organization pretty closely. They design their programs so thoughtfully and take care to think about equity and accessibility in deep ways to make sure all students and community members can engage meaningfully with their organization. They also are very mindful of how they develop their workforce and instructional programs to provide young professionals entering the field with the tools, skills and knowledge necessary to be strong, equity-minded environmental educators. I love Marine Science Institute and would highly recommend them as an Environmental Education partner for your program, school or district!

I run a community-based environmental education partner network in San Mateo County. Marine Science Institute is one of our most engaged and engaging partners. Jodi Stewart, the Land Program Manager, went above and beyond and has co-facilitated the network for over a year. MSI has been instrumental in moving environmental education forward in San Mateo County schools. Their programs are extremely popular with teachers and students alike, with everything from a leopard shark touch tank to an interactive experience on a boat out on the San Francisco Bay. I highly recommend this non-profit for all of the amazing benefits they are providing to students in San Mateo County and beyond.

The City of Lodi has enjoyed Marine Science Institute Discovery Voyage trips since 2003, sending many groups of Lodi students each year as part of the City's Watershed Education Program.

This program is the best way to introduce students to watershed studies and marine science in just 4-hours. Hands-on science discovery, team building activities, and dynamite staff are the secret sauce to the program's success. The kids have fun, but work hard, and are led by a very professional, safety minded, team of MSI investigators.

Over the years, this program has impacted many Lodi students in life changing ways. Campus cleanup clubs have been formed, students have entered environmental science studies in college, and later careers, and otherwise fallen in love with the wonderful world below the Bay.

But, none will ever forget their MSI trip to the SF Bay! Some have even written about their trips and been published in Lodi's annual Mokelumne Current, student work watershed focused newspaper. How often do you get to touch a bat ray or discover what's in the mud at the bottom of the bay? Students' thoughts are precious. https://lodiwatershed.com/index.php/2022/05/26/mokelumne-current-another-year-of-watershed-moments/

We highly recommend this program for all students, teachers, and parents, as a way to better understand the San Francisco Bay Estuary, its critters, and challenges they face.
Developing a personal environmental stewardship is instilled through this program.

What a great program! Thank you, MSI directors, funders, and staff!

And thank you to all the private donations from Lodi's watershed education program funders, that makes those trips possible.

It takes a lot of team work to make these programs accessible to our very diverse California communities. I hope those who are able will continue to support the Marine Science Institute's programs for many years.

The Marine Science Institute is a very important community partner on the peninsula. Their field trips are designed for the Next Generation Science Standards and provide students with wonderful local phenomena and hands-on experiences that help them become better stewards of the environment. MSI is also helping teachers transition to the Next Generation Science Standards. I greatly appreciate all they do.

We love having Marine Science come to our school. The cost of a school bus for field trips is around $700 for 3-4 hours. But when MSI visits are school with their marine life our students are so excited. They get to touch, observe, and learn interesting facts about the marine life they've been hearing about or reading about but most of them have never seen one. It's interesting to see the students interact with the sea creatures, some are very timid at first but then begin to get braver and encourage their classmates to touch a crab, or pet the shark. In addition to the hands-on experience the MSI staff also tell the children about how they can help keep the marine life safe. It's wonderful to see the students walk away with ideas of how they can help protect the marine life. They also hold a teacher event where we can register for them to come visit our school, explore the tanks of live marine life. I Love MSI, they are informing our next generation how they can help to make our world a better place for human and animal life to coexist.

The staff are well informed and the activities that I have attended so far have been awesome! Fun and educational.

I've worked with many nonprofits as a development professional. Marine Science Institute (MSI) has the utmost integrity in their financial practices. They are lean and efficient. They run a tight ship. (pun intended) And their mission, education and conservation messages are felt deeply by the thousands of students and teachers who come to learn about the incredible importance of the San Francisco Bay each year. MSI has earned the confidence of dozens of foundations and corporations who support their unique hands-on science education programs each year. Donors who give to MSI are people who hold the belief that the future of our planet rests on the shoulders of children and adults who understand their surroundings and who feel personal responsibility for stewarding all living creatures and ecosystems.

I have been involved with Marine Science Institute for over 10 years, from educational programs to volunteerism they have constantly exceeded my expectations. Their teaching staff is by far the most knowledgeable within their fields and remarkably friendly and patient with all of their students. I cannot recommend Marine Science Institute enough. Thank you for all that you do.

I am a former MSI employee who now teaches in a public school that uses MSI educational programs. I loved working at MSI and felt that the staff and facilities were top notch. All of the instructors were highly educated and compassionate about teaching students of all ages.

As a teacher, I work directly with the scheduling coordinator to plan field trips for my school. She is organized, flexible and extremely helpful especially when trying to plan around all of the special days and testing that my school has.

MSI is an outstanding organization and that I am proud to have been a part of. I am excited that my students are able to do programs with them.

Some of my team members and I from the Tech Museum were invited by MSI for their 2 hour bay voyage on Saturday, August 21st. As we all work with children, it was fun to see how the kids were completely engaged in all the activities, from trolling the bay to examining mud samples, and even touching a shark (I didn't do that, but I did hold a shrimp). The team running the voyage was extremely knowledgeable and also extremely fun, and encouraged us to discover and explore as we wished. The only thing I would have done differently was to bring chapstick, but they warned me to beforehand, so that was my error. Didn't hinder the great time we all had, though! You can see pics of the voyage at this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/medanie/sets/72157624777841200/show/

I recently participated in MSI's "Ecotour" program, a two-hour, on-water experience to help the general public better understand the San Francisco Bay's functions and characteristics. The tour was informative, well-organized, and engaging. Adults and children seemed to have a good time. I will be taking a group of adults on the tour in a few weeks and am very excited about this program!