DURHAM, N.H. - How do scientists track whales as they dive deep beneath the sea to feed? How do they grow fish from microscopic larvae up to an age that they can be put out in Hampton Harbor to help replenish stocks? How are they restoring critical wetland and seagrass habitats in Great Bay?

Answers to these and other marine mysteries abound at the second annual Know the Coast Day, hosted by the University of New Hampshire Marine Program and New Hampshire Sea Grant, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. At this free event, UNH's three marine laboratories - Jackson Estuarine Laboratory and the Jere Chase Ocean Engineering Laboratory in Durham and the Coastal Marine Research Facility in New Castle - offer visitors of all ages an opportunity to talk to scientists, tour laboratories and research vessels, and get their hands wet learning about the Seacoast's marine scene.

"Despite the modest length of our coastline, New Hampshire has deep roots to the marine environment. Over the past 40 years, UNH has been home to a large number of faculty and students who have worked to expand our knowledge about these fascinating ecosystems," says Jon Pennock, director of the UNH Marine Program and N.H. Sea Grant College Program. "We look forward to hosting many visitors as they 'Know the Coast.'"

At Jackson Laboratory on Great Bay, visitors will get to know the organisms -- oysters, eels, horseshoe crabs, seaweed and eelgrass - that thrive in New Hampshire's largest estuary. Treks around Adams Point and tours of the historic Gundalow are also on tap.

Also in Durham, the Chase Ocean Engineering Lab on the UNH campus is home to a wave tank as well as some of UNH's cutting-edge work in ocean renewable energy, aquaculture, ocean mapping, and underwater exploration. Hands-on activities at Chase include squid dissection and fish printing, while the UNH Marine Docent Sea Chantey Singers entertain.

At the Coastal Marine Research Facility in New Castle, visitors can get up close to lobsters, flounder, and mussels; tour a commercial fishing vessel and numerous UNH research vessels; learn about underwater research; and test the quality of the water. Guides will offer tours of historic Fort Constitution, and visitors can climb the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse.

Know the Coast Day activities run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; organizers suggest that guests aim to visit two of the three locations. More information, including directions and schedules of activities, are at www.unh.edu/knowthecoast or on Facebook at facebook.com/knowthecoast.

Know the Coast Day is hosted by the UNH Marine Program, N.H. Sea Grant, and the UNH Marine Docents. Funding has been provided by the National Sea Grant College Program, the David J. Chase and Mary Ann Stone Chase Fund for Excellence in Marine Science, the Leslie S. Hubbard Marine Program Endowment, the UNH Marine Program and the UNH Marine Docents.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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Photographs available to download:

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Caption: Squid dissection is just one of the many hands-on activities at the second annual Know the Coast Day Oct. 15, 2011, hosted by the UNH Marine Program and N.H. Sea Grant.
Credit: Mike Ross, UNH Photographic Services

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Caption: The R/V Gulf Challenger, flagship of the UNH research fleet, is one of several research vessels open for touring at the Coastal Marine Facility in New Castle at the second annual Know the Coast Day Oct. 15, 2011, hosted by the UNH Marine Program and N.H. Sea Grant.
Credit: Mike Ross, UNH Photographic Services

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Caption: Visitors to the second annual Know the Coast Day Oct. 15, 2011, hosted by the UNH Marine Program and N.H. Sea Grant, can get to know coastal creatures like this horseshoe crab.
Credit: Mike Ross, UNH Photographic Services.