FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) is offering an extensive array of summer marine science programs. Middle and high school students, college and graduate students and K-12 teachers are encouraged to enroll in one of the programs they say offers excellence in education with an ideal location for studying and interacting with marine life.

“We try to have something for every age group,” said Dr. Tina Miller-Way, program director. She noted the programs for younger students are designed for their shorter attention spans, while those for older students are more intensive.

Miller-Way said, “High school students live and breathe marine biology and made bonds with others while they’re here. Ages 8-13 look at marine habitats in the morning and then come inside in the afternoon to put to use what they observed.”

DISL was chartered in the 1970s, and the summer programs were implemented soon after. She said, “Education has always been a focus. Some of the programs are class like and some are more fun. They engage the kids better if you make it fun. They’re not directly cognizant that they’re learning.”

Miller-Way said not every every child learns the same way, and that is taken into account in the summer program curriculum. She added, “We adjust our teaching style to their learning style.”

NOAA guidelines that emphasize the importance of ocean literacy are taken into account, as are the Alabama Course of Study standards.

“We’re covering not only what teachers think students need to know, but also what scientists think students need to know,” Miller-Way said.

Even with cuts in state educational funding a constant these days, most of the summer courses are very affordable, while a couple aimed at teachers are even free because they are fully funded by grants.

“I believe we are the best bargain on the Gulf,” she said. “Dr. George Crozier (DISL director) is very dedicated to education. We’ve increased grant funding to keep it affordable.”

The programs offered this year include:

•Children ages 5-8 — Oceans Alive! Make exploring the beach with your children a fun and educational experience. Entertaining classroom activities are combined with an eye-opening beach excursion. These half-day camps are held from 1 until 4:30 p.m., and are limited; admissions are taken on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Parents/guardians are required to attend, must be 18 years of age and may bring no more than three children.

Cost $35 per student. Includes T-shirt, Estuarium pass, snack and certificate.

Dates: June 2, 18; July 16; Aug. 2.

•Children ages 9-11 — Treasure Island. High-tech meets history at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Children are invited to go on a treasure hunt on the sandy beaches of Dauphin Island. They will use Global Positioning System technology to hunt for buried treasure while learning about the history and ecology of the Island. This half-day adventure will take place from 1 to 4:30 p.m.; an adult must accompany child.

Cost: $35 per student. Includes T-shirt, Estuarium pass, snack and certificate.

Dates: June 11, 21; July 9; Aug. 4.

•Children ages 8-13 — Art-Sea Discovery Camp. Appreciate the beauty of nature with exploration and art in this exciting new day-long camp. Participants will investigate and sketch the wonders of the maritime forest and beaches of Dauphin Island and then create a variety of unique environmentally themed art projects.

Cost: $50 per student. Includes all art materials (including a canvas bag), T-shirt, morning and afternoon snacks, Estuarium pass, snack and certificate. Dates: June 4; July 19, 30.

•Middle school students — Gulf Island Journey. Join the Sea Lab team for beach scavenger hunts, ghost crab crawls, marsh mushing and collection trips aboard our research vessel A.E. Verrill.

The group will visit a historic civil war fort and travel to another small island off the coast of Dauphin Island to see nesting sea birds and collect shells.

This exciting and educational residential program instills a basic understanding of marine science with lots of hands-on activities.

There are only 30 slots for each one-week program, so sign up early. Designed for rising 7th-, 8th- & 9th-grade students.

Cost: $550, includes tuition, room, meals and lab fees.

Dates: June 27-July 2; July 11-16; July 18-23; July 25-30.

Application deadline: May 14.

•High school students — An intensive summer course introducing the student to the marine environment through classroom lecture, laboratory and field activities is available to rising 10-12th grade students. The length of the course is four weeks, during which time the students live on campus and participate in more than 160 hours of supervised academic activities.

Classes are taught in an academic setting and are designed to give the student a better understanding and appreciation of the various fields in marine science. The Alabama State Department of Education approves the Discovery Hall Summer Programs and recommends that local systems grant participating students credit toward either an advanced or standard high school diploma.

Cost: $2,050.

Dates: June 6-July 2. Application deadline: April 9.

•K-12 educators — A variety of exciting courses is available to all teachers throughout the summer. Teachers will be able to bring the oceans back into the classrooms, as well as earn credit.

Educators will collect specimens for their classes and receive an extensive teaching curriculum. Graduate semester hours are available for all courses.

The Delta: June 6-10; $550, including meals and housing. Deadline for registration May 21.

Beaches, Birds and Barrier Islands — June 14-18; $550, including meals and housing.

Deadline for registration May 28.

Regional Issues in the Gulf of Mexico — July 6-9; free (funded by the Northern Gulf Institute).

Deadline for registration June 18.

Fins, Fishes and Fisheries — July 11-15; free (funded by Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium).

Deadline for registration June 25.

Rhizomes, Reefs and Restoration — July 26-30; free (funded by Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium).

Deadline for registration July 19.

Check the DISL Web site at http://dhp.disl.org/teachertraining.htm for more information.

•College and graduate students — University programs of the Sea Lab offer numerous courses for credit for undergraduates and graduate students during the summer, ranging from Shark and Ray Biology to Coastal Wetlands Ecology to Hurricanes of the Gulf Coast.

Courses in this intense program will be offered from May to August; individualized directed research opportunities with resident faculty are also available.

Sessions will run May 17-May 28, May 31-July 2, and July 5-August 6.

General public — Be sure to visit the Estuarium, the aquarium of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, for an exciting look at the animals and habitats of the Mobile Bay estuary. The Estuarium is a cool place to be on a hot summer day.

Open seven days a week. For more information: (866) 403-4409, or visit.www.sealabestuarium.org.

For those looking for a great family outing in the field, join one of the DISL Summer Excursion Programs.

They offer trips to the biologically rich Dauphin Island salt marsh (June 15, July 26 or Aug. 3) or a fascinating tour of the island’s beach, dune and forest habitats (June 7, June 22, July 12 or July 20).

Excursion cost: $10 per person.

For more information on any of these programs, go to the DISL Web site at www.disl.org, or call (251) 861-2141.

**Costs and schedules on all programs are subject to change.