2023 Taxonomy Course Information

Getting to Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences:

Please send us your preferred flight itinerary.  You can either fly into Boston's Logan Airport (~3.5hr from the lab) or Portland Jetport (~1.5hr from the lab), although the later is preferred.  From Logan you can take Concord Coach Line (concordcoachlines.com) up to the Portland Maine transportation hub.  Based upon travel plans, we'll arrange for a shuttle bus to pick people up at the Portland airport or transportation hub and bring them to Bigelow Laboratory in East Boothbay.  The lab address is 60 Bigelow Rd, East Boothbay, ME.

If you are renting a car or driving to Bigelow, please see the embedded Google Map below for additional details.

Where to Go On Campus:

Below is a map (follow the red line) of where to go on campus once you arrive.  Once you turn into the Bigelow Lab driveway, keep to the right ever time you have a choice of direction and that will take you down to the Graham Shimmield Residence Hall.  You can unload your car there for ease, however,  we kindly ask that you then return to the primary parking lot (highlighted in Red Square).  There are no permits required, but we do ask that you follow the abide by the posted signs regarding fuel efficient vehicles.  If you have an electric car that you would like to charge, there are 8 charging stations on campus - you drive passed them on the way to the residence hall/back up to the parking lot.  You will need to have the EvGateway app on your smart phone for charging.  Please keep in mind that these are available for all Bigelow staff, so once charged, please kindly move your car to the parking lot.

Classes:

Lectures and microscope labs will be held in the Alfond Room at the Shimmield Residence Hall.  Demonstrations requiring hoods and laboratory facilities will be held in NCMA research spaces.  Zeiss is providing LAN networked microscopes for the class to use which allow the instructors and other students to view specimen from individual microscopes.  Zeiss uses an Apple IPad App for it's microscopes, so please bring your IPad if you have one.

What to bring:

Please bring an IPad (if you have one, they're not mandatory though), good walking shoes, a light coat, an umbrella or raincoat, bug repellent (the mosquitos and ticks are particularly bad this year) and sunscreen.  We will provide a lab notebook and handouts of the powerpoint lectures.  Although we will have taxonomy reference books available, if you have a favorite (Tomas, Horner, etc.) please bring it if possible.

Housing:

Students will be staying at Bigelow's 15,000 square-foot Graham Shimmield Residence Hall on Bigelow's East Boothbay campus overlooking the Damariscotta River (https://www.bigelow.org/about/campus-resources.html).    The Hall has a communal kitchen facility and social area as well as fitness and laundry areas and is a 5-minute walk from both the main laboratory and the Bigelow shore facility and dock.  Rooms are double occupancy and are provided with pillows, bedding, and towels.  

Parking:

Parking at the Residence Hall is limited to the instructors, but there is plenty of parking available in Bigelow's main paved lot or the dirt lot behind the solar facility, both of which are a 3-minute walk to the Residence Hall.    

Meals:

Continental breakfast and lunches will be provided will be provided at the laboratory, along with mid-morning and mid-afternoon break snacks.  Several dinner meals will be provided for those days with evening activities and a quick turnaround, but generally you will be on your own for dinner.  The residence hall has a  full kitchen is available for student use.  Water, coffee, and tea will be provided.  Students will be on their own for one afternoon/evening during the course, and there are numerous restaurants of all kinds and price ranges in East Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, and Southport.  A dinner dinner will be held at the Laboratory on the final night of the class. 

The Weather:

The weather in August in Maine is usually beautiful, but is variable and can range from warm (~80oF) to cool (~65oF).  It is often foggy and damp.    We recommend bringing a light jacket, raincoat or umbrella, and good walking shoes. 

The Region:

Bigelow Laboratory is located in East Boothbay, at the mouth of the Damariscotta River near the southern end of the Lincoln County peninsula.  The economy of the region has traditionally been based on fishing, shipbuilding, and tourism, all of which continue today.  August is the height of tourist season, and there are abundant choices for dining, shopping, boat tours and sightseeing in nearby Boothbay Harbor.   Further information on the region can be found at:

http://www.boothbayharbor.com/ 

http://www.boothbay.org/bcc_attractions.html

Contact Information

Mike Lomas:   office (207) 315-2567 x 311,  cell (207) 844-4867

                    email: mlomas@bigelow.org

Rimar Reed: office (207) 315-2567 x1

                    email: ncma@bigelow.org