A wave of people flooded the University of Delaware’s Lewes campus Oct. 6th to celebrate this year's Coast Day, hosted by UD’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment.

The annual event showcases how the university community is working to understand our marine and coastal ecosystems while raising awareness and support for our coast and uplifting the minds working to protect it.

Attendees heard live music fluttering through the background as they enjoyed shopping at local vendors, learning about coastal organizations and eating at food trucks throughout the day. Children felt included as well with numerous activities such as crafts, touch tanks, and a treasure hunt present at the event and geared towards younger audiences.

The event featured a wide variety of booths ranging from advertisements for university degree programs to informational booths for organizations doing fieldwork, one of which was hosted by Kevin Brinson, assistant professor of geography and spatial sciences at the university, and his team from the Center for Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (CEMA).

Their booth showed attendees what it takes to be a weatherman by featuring a collection of equipment that monitored live changes in atmospheric conditions and demonstrated how meteorologists stay on top of their work  

Brinson explained how Coast Day is a great opportunity for scientists and researchers to explain their work to the general public and “meet them where they’re at,” as well as give back to the community that supports them.

“It's not just the University that makes us work, we're here to serve the public as well and this is a great event to do that,” Brinson said.

While Brinson believes the event can help to educate the public, he also sees it as an opportunity for researchers to take feedback and learn themselves.  

“It’s nice to have a place where the public and different researchers can come together and learn,” Brinson said. “It’s not just me telling people what I do, they’re telling me what they are curious about and what they are interested in, and it’s nice to have those conversations with people.”

Curious minds at the event were in the right place as the event featured tours of university lab facilities, in-lab experiments, and lectures from university scientists.

Scott Goldberg, a Ph.D student at the university, was stationed at one of the university labs where event-goers had the opportunity to see live sharks and skates while learning about the research being done to learn more about these animals.

Goldberg works in Dr. Aaron Carlisle’s lab for the university studying marine life, and he sees Coast Day as a chance for scientists like himself to turn their meaningful work into real-world benefits.  

“Science is important and we do a lot of good work,” Goldberg explained. “But if we do a lot of good work and don't tell anyone about it, it won't change the world. So fundamentally Coast Day is us taking our work and making sure that people understand it.”

For more on Coast Day, including a photo gallery from this year's event, visit the official webpage.