Submitted by the Event Organizer

The Marine Mammal Center Set to Reopen Friday, June 3 with Significant Renovations

The Marine Mammal Center, the largest marine mammal hospital in the world, is reopening its doors to the public on Friday, June 3, 2022 after being closed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the Center has unveiled significant renovations to its Visitor Center and Marine Mammal Rescue Dispatch and Life Support Building, made possible by a significant donation from Ken Hao and Kathy Chiao, longtime residents of Stinson Beach.

Hours

Friday to Monday 10am – 4pm

Except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day

The Marine Mammal Center was able to take advantage of the break in visitor traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic to expedite the renovations with architectural design firm HGA Architects and Engineers.

The Visitor Center renovation is a complete remodeling and envisaging of the 2,700 square foot indoor visitor experience spaces, with additional enhancements to the outdoor visitor areas. These mark the first renovations of the Visitor Center since the grand opening in 2009 when visitor numbers averaged fewer than 30,000 people. Now, with over 100,000 visitors coming annually, The Marine Mammal Center is well-equipped to create impactful experiences for visitors from all over the world, including thousands of local students for whom the Center has long been a favorite field trip destination in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Marine Mammal Center worked with a team through Autodesk Foundation’s Pro Bono Consulting program to create and install a large touch-screen interactive exhibit that allows visitors to explore behind-the-scenes at the hospital. The interactive map features photos, videos and live stream camera feeds of various spaces throughout the hospital, including animal pens, the harbor seal hospital, life support systems, solar panels and dispatch office. Autodesk employees are expert software engineers, marketers, developers, technical support and training specialists, designers, program managers and much more. Through Autodesk’s Pro Bono Consulting, employees volunteer their time and skills to solve critical capacity building challenges with some of their most impactful customers.

The renovations to the Marine Mammal Rescue, Dispatch, and Life Support Building are a transformation of the 1,400 square foot building. The Center operates the busiest marine mammal rescue hotline on the West Coast, responding to 10,000-15,000 calls per year. The improved building now has a new and unique office space specifically tailored to the needs of the Center’s dispatch and life support teams, which include many volunteers. The space, which is located near the pens and pools, will enable the Center to safely and efficiently support the staff and volunteers engaged in the core work of rescuing and rehabilitating sick and injured marine mammals.

“We are the caretakers for over two-thirds of the California coast, so it is important that our facility is well- equipped to care for our growing number of patients,” said Dr. Jeff Boehm, Chief External Relations Officer of The Marine Mammal Center. “These renovations allow us to effectively carry out our mission of advancing global ocean conservation in all phases – rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research and education.”

Learn About All of Our New Exhibits 

• Completely Renovated Interior: Check out our new look! We’ve updated our entire interior visitor space to provide even more opportunities for you to learn about marine mammals. Visit our Exhibit Hall to learn about our work, view live cam feeds of current patients at the hospital, and participate in activities to help you become an ocean hero. Don’t forget to stop in at our Retail Store on your way out to buy eco-friendly gifts that support the hospital.

• Interactive Hospital Map: Interactive Hospital Map created with the support of Autodesk Foundation’s Pro Bono Consulting program. Use the touchscreen to explore different locations and see live cams, videos and photos of our patients. You’ll learn more about how the largest marine mammal hospital in the world operates as you virtually explore the seal and sea lion pools, specialized otter pens, life support systems and more.

• Pledge Wall: Thanks to visitors like you, hundreds of marine mammal patients get a second chance at life each year. Now take the next step as an Ocean Hero and pledge to protect the ocean these animals call home. Step into our Exhibit Hall where you can proudly add your name to one of our pledge magnets and take your picture to show your support for the ocean and marine mammals. Don’t forget to tag us on social media!

• Conservation in Focus: Photography Exhibition: The Marine Mammal Center is proud to present Conservation in Focus, a photography exhibition unveiling scenes of marine mammals—both in the wild and at the world’s largest marine mammal hospital. Take a step behind the lens of esteemed photographer Bill Hunnewell for an immersive and unique look at marine mammal rehabilitation and the challenges these animals face in the wild. From the impact of threats like climate change to uplifting stories of second chances, these moving images are bound to inspire actions that protect marine mammals and our shared ocean environment.

• Rescue Display: Visit our Conservation Cover to step into the shoes of a Rescue Volunteer in our new exhibit. Learn about how our specially trained volunteers assess distressed marine mammals and decide whether to rescue them. Then step into our interactive exhibit where you can handle our specialized equipment, like rescue nets and boards, and see if you have what it takes to become a volunteer!

• Sea Otter Mural: You won’t be able to miss our stunning new mural designed and installed by San Francisco-based artist Cameron Moberg. Get up close and personal with this engaging southern sea otter and consider how you can be an ocean hero to protect threatened and endangered species. And remember – you can take pictures with this little guy, but keep a safe distance from wildlife in the wild!

• Fish Kitchen Kiosk: What do seals and sea lions eat while they’re in the hospital? And where does the food come from? Find out all of this and more when you interact with our kiosk at the Fish Kitchen. See photos and videos featuring the different stages of recovery – from fish milkshakes to fish school – and test your knowledge of sustainable seafood!
• Laboratory Kiosk: You probably know that we treat hundreds of seals and sea lions each year, but did you know that our experts are leading contributors to global knowledge about marine mammal health? A lot of that research happens right here in our labs onsite! Step into the shoes of a veterinarian and diagnose a patient, learn about our major research projects, and travel the world with us to see how we’re learning about marine mammals around the globe.

ABOUT THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER

The Marine Mammal Center is a global leader in marine mammal health, science and conservation, and is the largest marine mammal hospital in the world. As a leading contributor to the global body of research and knowledge about marine mammal medicine and ocean health, the Center generates research findings and scientific outputs at volumes comparable to top academic institutions and prides itself on gathering and providing open research data that is free to access, reuse, repurpose and redistribute. The Center’s teaching hospital and training programs operate globally with headquarters in Sausalito, CA. The Center has rescued more than 24,000 marine mammals from 600 miles of authorized rescue area along the California coastline and the Big Island of Hawai‘i. The Center’s mission is to advance global ocean conservation through marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research, and education.

For more information, please visit MarineMammalCenter.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.