UQ’s Moreton Bay facility to hold open day

Sun, sea, sand and research will be on display next week when The University of Queensland’s Moreton Bay Research Station opens its doors to the public.

The free event will take place on Sunday, November 16, from 10am-3pm at the corner of Flinders Avenue and Fraser Street, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island.

“There will be a wide variety of activities for people of all ages, including tours of the station, exhibits of local marine creatures, seminars and even a sausage sizzle,” said Education Officer Kathy Townsend from UQ’s Centre for Marine Studies.

Ms Townsend said the open day would give members of the community an opportunity to discover more about some of the marine life living in the area.

She said it would also inform people about various research projects currently being undertaken at the facility.

A touch tank as well as shark and ray tanks will showcase some of the creatures commonly found in Moreton Bay while a microscope display will show some of the more unknown inhabitants of the area.

The research station’s natural history museum will also have displays featuring dugongs, early oceanographic equipment and dolphin anatomy.

Children must be accompanied by an adult and it is recommended that old sports shoes be worn on the guided tours of the sandy flat and rocky shores in front of the research station.

The research station become UQ’s first marine facility after it took over its operations from the CSIRO in 1958. The facility features a modern, fully equipped teaching laboratory and lecture theatre, a large research laboratory, a UQ linked computer room and library, and living quarters for more than 70 people.

For further information, including public transport to the island, visit www.marine.uq.edu.au/mbrs/getting.htm or contact Ms Townsend (telephone 07 3409 9058 or email mbrs@uq.edu.au).

Media: for further information, contact Ms Townsend (telephone 07 3409 9058, email mbrs@uq.edu.au) or Joanne van Zeeland at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2619).