Two New Science Centers Set to Open Their Doors Saturday

Two new hands-on marine education facilities at Hampton Beach are making their final preparations as they gets ready to open their doors for the first time this weekend.

Blue Ocean Discovery Center, selected by the state recently as the winning proposal to occupy the vacant 170 Ocean Blvd. storefront near the Hampton Beach Seashell Complex, is a discovery center run by the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation to provide children of all ages a chance to learn and explore marine life in new ways.

Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation Executive Director Jennifer Kennedy has previously said that her group is "very excited" to "finally" be able to open the oceanarium and discovery center on Saturday, and many residents have expressed similar sentiments to Patch.

"This will be a great addition to the Seacoast and I am very excited that other local leaders such as the Hampton Area Beach Commission and the Hampton Village Precinct got behind this project and that the state approved it," State Rep. Chris Muns, D-Hampton, has previously said. 

Also opening on Saturday is Explore the Ocean World Oceanarium, located at 367 Ocean Blvd., Unit 3. The oceanarium is a separate educational facility spearheaded by Hampton's Ellen Goethel, who for years has been bringing marine animals found by her commercial fisherman husband to local schools.

Blue Ocean Discovery Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. More information about the facility can be found on its Facebook page.

Explore the Ocean World Oceanarium will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to a post on the facility's Facebook page. The marine touch tanks will be open for a total of five half-hour sessions, the times for which are detailed here.

Explore the Ocean World Oceanarium will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Labor Day, after which the facility will only be open on the weekends from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through the end of September.

More details about the oceanarium, which has several community service-focused initiatives planned and is currently hiring, can be found here.