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Wired Pier Environmental Field Station

Research and Exploration Ships docked at the Exploratorium

Pier 17 is more than just a home for the Exploratorium, it’s a working port. We periodically host ships as they take a break between research and exploration missions along the west coast and the Pacific. These vessels may be exploring and mapping the deep sea, studying environmental conditions, or assessing the health of ocean ecosystems.

The Exploratorium’s Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery offers an intimate view of these floating laboratories. And occasionally, visiting scientists or crew members take time out to talk with museum visitors about what it’s like to do science at sea.

Sensors on top of the Bay Observatory
NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown

Ship Visit Log

Ship		Operated By	Current Mission	Arrival Date	Depature Date
R/V Sally Ride		Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UCSD	Celebrating the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) 100th anniversary with educational tours and events. Ship tours available on December 9 and December 10.	Sunday, December 8, 2019	Thursday, December 12, 2019
E/V Nautilus		Ocean Exploration Trust	Expedition in the National Marine Sanctuaries off the west coast.	Wednesday, October 2, 2019	Friday, October 4, 2019
I Am Ocean		Ben Lecomte	In summer 2019, the specially outfitted sailing yacht hosted long-distance swimmer Ben Lecomte and his crew on a 300-mile swim through the Pacific Gyre between Hawaii and the mainland U.S. Currents in this region accumulate discarded plastic and rogue fishing gear and the expedition through the Vortex brings attention to the environmental impact of plastic in the ocean. The expedition crew will host tours of the boat from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm on Saturday, September 8, 2019. Photo: Vortex, @seamarshall	Friday, September 6, 2019	Sunday, September 8, 2019
R/V Reuben Lasker		NOAA	Scientists aboard NOAA fisheries ship Reuben Lasker are working on a survey of fish and wildlife along the California coast. Data on marine life is critical to both scientific understanding of ecosystems as well as informing fishery policymakers.	Friday, June 7, 2019	Thursday, June 13, 2019
R/V Reuben Lasker		NOAA	NOAA fisheries ship Reuben Lasker is completing one leg of a rockfish survey. This survey uses rod and reel gear to sample fish in areas that are difficult to survey with traditional methods such as research trawl nets. Surveying current fish populations provides crucial data for fishery policymakers	Friday, May 24, 2019	Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Dar Młodzieży		Gdynia Maritime University	The ship is visiting San Francisco after spending time in the Philippine Sea. Crew from the ship will be speaking in the Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery on the evening of Thursday, Dec 20th, 2018.	Tuesday, December 18, 2018	Saturday, December 22, 2018
E/V Nautilus		Ocean Exploration Trust	The E/V Nautilus is docked at the Exploratorium as it transitions between research cruises. Before arriving, the ship was mapping the seafloor in transit between Honolulu and San Francisco. From here it will be traveling to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to explore a deep-sea reef near Davidson Seamount, an inactive volcanic undersea mountain habitat off the coast of central California.	Friday, October 19, 2018	Sunday, October 21, 2018
R/V Falkor		Schmidt Ocean Institute	Researching methane bubbles to better understand breakdown of methane in seawater and inform future climate models and researching hydrothermal vent ecosystems to better understand the biology around hydrothermal vents off the California coast.	Thursday, September 20, 2018	Sunday, September 30, 2018
R/V Reuben Lasker		NOAA	Survey of deep-sea fish populations along the West Coast.	Thursday, August 9, 2018	Sunday, August 12, 2018
R/V Bell M. Shimada		NOAA	Pre-recruit survey with the National Maritime Fisheries Service	Friday, September 2, 2016	Tuesday, September 6, 2016

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