Marine Science Institute Location and Facilities

Our mailing address is:

500 Discovery Parkway
Redwood City, CA 94063-4715
(650) 364-2760 (phone)
(650) 364-0416 (fax)

 

 
Please do not use our address to map a route on the internet. You will receive incorrect directions!

 

Follow the directions below to reach the Institute. 

 

Download and print a pdf version of directions & parking information here.

 

From the North Bay:

 

Take 101 South from San Francisco, heading toward San Jose. Exit off of Highway 101 at Woodside Rd./Seaport Blvd. As you exit, take Seaport Blvd. toward the Bay (to the East). Take Seaport Blvd. to Chesapeake Dr. and turn left on Chesapeake into the business park. Follow Chesapeake and turn left on Saginaw.  Then turn right on Cardinal Way. Follow Cardinal Way all the way to the end.  At the end of the road veer right, pass the Stanford Boathouse, and continue on to the Institute.

 

From the South Bay:

Take 101 North from San Jose, passing the exit for the Dumbarton Bridge. Exit off of 101 North at Woodside Rd./Seaport Blvd. As you exit, take Seaport Blvd. toward the Bay (to the East). Take Seaport Blvd. to Chesapeake Dr. and turn left on Chesapeake into the business park. Follow Chesapeake and turn left on Saginaw.  Then turn right on Cardinal Way. Follow Cardinal Way all the way to the end.  At the end of the road veer right, pass the Stanford Boathouse, and continue on to the Institute.

From the East Bay:

Take 880 South from Oakland to the San Mateo Bridge (Hwy 92). Cross the San Mateo Bridge and get on Highway 101 South toward San Jose. Exit off of Highway 101 South at Woodside Rd./Seaport Blvd. As you exit, take Seaport Blvd. toward the Bay (to the East). Take Seaport Blvd. to Chesapeake Dr. and turn left on Chesapeake into the business park. Follow Chesapeake and turn left on Saginaw.  Then turn right on Cardinal Way. Follow Cardinal Way all the way to the end.  At the end of the road veer right, pass the Stanford Boathouse, and continue on to the Institute

 

Facilities Available at MSI

The R/V Robert G. Brownlee

 

The Robert G. Brownlee is the newest addition to the Institute. This spectacular new ship replaced the Inland Seas, the ship that MSI used as its "floating classroom" for Discovery Voyage programs since 1970, in 1998. The Discovery Voyage program is the most popular program at the Institute, serving approximately 16,000 students each year. During a Discovery Voyage, students use the scientific method to study the fish (ichthyology), bottom sediments and invertebrates (benthic ecology), microscopic organisms (plankton ecology) and water quality (hydrology) of the San Francisco Bay Estuary. Discovery Voyage programs are tailored to a wide range of age groups, educating students in grades 4 through college. In addition, teacher workshops and Discovery Voyages for friends, families, and home schools are held aboard the Brownlee. Data for the Institute's Monitoring Programs, specifically the South Bay Monitoring Program, European green crab monitoring program, and the leopard and smoothhound shark tag and release program, is also collected by research interns accompanying students on Discovery Voyages.

 

Discovery Classroom and Lab

 

The Discovery Classroom and Lab is the field-station for most of MSI's Shoreside, Ocean Lab, Marine Camp, and Teacher Seminar programs. The waterfront site on South San Francisco Bay makes the Discovery Classroom and Lab easily accessible for fish, mud, water and plankton sampling. By collecting live animals and using microscopes, beach seines, mud grabs, taxonomic keys, and the scientific method, students in the Discovery Classroom and Lab learn about different groups of organisms living in and around San Francisco Bay. The Discovery Classroom is also host to our guest lecturer series.

 

The Marine Science Center

 

The purpose of the center is to meet the increased demand of school classes and other members of the South Bay community for hands-on, discovery-based marine education. Through personalized experiences with live fish, plankton, and invertebrates that inhabit local marine habitats, South Bay visitors (particularly urban school-age children) will leave the Center with a vivid picture of the connection between humans and the San Francisco Bay and Delta ecosystem. In addition to enhancing greater scientific knowledge and environmental awareness, the interpretive component will focus on enhancing critical thinking skills - the keystone of MSI's educational mission.

 

The unique, interactive Marine Science Center fufills the needs of visiting families by providing accessible marine science information and opportunities for investigation. The center provides additional classroom space, and an exhibit area for our various marine mammal skeletons, and whale exhibits. Ultimately, the center will provide hands-on, self-guided investigation for families and individuals that will be staffed volunteers and docents.

 

Marine Science Mobile

 

 

The Marine Science Mobile takes marine life on the road! Live marine plants and animals are brought to students all over Northern California for the Inland Voyage programs supported by the Marine Science Mobile. Each Inland Voyage program is tailored specifically for the grade and curricula of the class, usually focusing on either Bay fish (including sharks!), Bay and Ocean invertebrates, or a particular marine habitat chosen by the teacher.