In accordance with recommendations given by the County of Orange and the California Department of Public Health, the Back Bay Science Center has temporarily cancelled all programs (effective immediately) until further notice. Staff are monitoring the situation daily, and programs will resume when it is deemed safe. This is a preventative measure to help slow the spread of COVID-19 through our community. The decision was made out of an abundance of caution, and to do our part to help protect the public’s health. We are disappointed that we won’t be able to welcome students and the public during this time, but please know we will do our best to resume programming as soon as possible.
We appreciate your patience and understanding and look forward to seeing you soon!
Until we can welcome you back, we encourage you to help us further our mission: study and enjoy the estuarine ecology of Newport Bay, and the marine ecology of the ocean, while promoting natural resource conservation and stewardship throughout the watershed.
Check out our EDUCATION page for links to access online educational resources including; live streams, webinars, lesson plans, and virtual tours that are accessible to you, your family, friends, or students! Education page
Welcome
Located in Newport Beach, CA next to the Newport Dunes. This facility provides year-round educational programs emphasizing estuarine and marine ecology; connecting these concepts to the greater watershed. Over 750 thousand people live in this watershed, which incorporates nine densely populated and urbanized cities. Pollutants from these urban areas funnel down through the Back Bay estuary and out to the Pacific Ocean. The Back Bay Science Center strives towards educating local students and citizens about the critical role they play in the health of thier watershed. Our goal is for people to become stewards of thier environment and the Newport Back Bay.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Back Bay Science Center is to provide a hands-on facility where students and the public can study and enjoy the estuarine ecology of Newport Bay, and the marine ecology of the ocean, while promoting natural resource conservation and stewardship throughout the watershed.