The Work
The work of the Laboratory provides for a variety of people
In the foundation of Hopkins Seaside Laboratory the directors have had in mind three different but very closely related fields of usefulness, the same being filled so admirably on the Atlantic coast by the [Woods Hole] Marine Biological Laboratory under the able direction of Dr. C. O. Whitman. (26)
Hopkins Seaside Laboratory, while associated with Stanford University, was not limited to the faculty and students of this institution for its usefulness. In addition, the facility was to provide education and research opportunities to those not associated with the academic institution. (27) The regular sessions of the laboratory were held during the summer months, when teachers, students, and others desiring to attend, had their vacations, while the use of the buildings was open to investigators throughout the year. This original organization of the facility provided for three classes of participants: 1) the faculty, undergraduate and graduate students of Stanford University, 2) the scientific investigators and 3) teachers and students beyond those associated with Stanford.
Undergraduate and Graduate Students: The undergraduates from Stanford University were encouraged to spend their summers at the laboratory to learn about marine organisms from direct experience. As presented by Jenkins (1893):
Naturally, students in the biological departments in the University who wish to extend their work in the Seaside Laboratory, they are made welcome. (28)
Stanford students attending the summer session at Hopkins Seaside Laboratory, were not limited to those whose chosen major was physiology or zoology but included those with chosen major of Botany, Entomology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Geology Economics, English, History, French, German or Education also took part.
Graduate students from Stanford University were also encouraged to spend their summers at the facility. A. G. Maddren (1898) describes the typical graduate student who would have an interest in spending time at the seaside laboratory.
Advanced students in zoology, physiology, and botany, who wish to continue their studies under the very favorable conditions of a well equipped marine laboratory, and to become acquainted with the problems and methods of research in biological lines. (29)
The Investigators: According to Jenkins (1893):
The Hopkins Seaside Laboratory while carried on under the auspices of the University [was] by no means to be regarded as simply a provision for members of that institution. Its advantages are planned for and freely offered to investigators from whatever source. In this work it is not to be at all looked upon as a rival to any of the well-equipped laboratories already in existence, but rather as a collaborator with them. The field it occupies is both unique and important. It would be a serious neglect of biological opportunities to leave it longer unoccupied. The problems, which are now present on this Coast, and those, which will open from time to time, will attract investigators from other regions. There is now a home provided for them. Those of this coast engaged in biological study it is confidently expected will take a lively interest in the work of the Laboratory. (30)
Teachers and Students: According to MacFarland (1902), the purpose of allowing teachers and students to take part in laboratory courses in botany and zoology was to raise the standard of scientific instruction in the public schools of the state by giving teachers and others the facilities for becoming acquainted with the marine fauna and flora and the best methods of their study. (31)
The following description provided by Maddren (1898) presents the course of instruction offered to those teachers and students able to attend:
For this group of workers regular courses will be conducted on various subjects, accompanied by lectures and individual instruction at the worktable and in studies on the collecting grounds and in the preservation of material. These courses give thorough drill in the laboratory methods of study, in dissecting, and in the use of the microscope. They are especially helpful to teachers of these subjects in High Schools and to teachers in Nature Study in any department of schoolwork. They are elementary in character and may be undertaken by those without previous biological training.(32)
Footnotes
(26) MacFarland, F. M. (1902). The Hopkins Seaside Laboratory. Journal of Applied Microscopy and Laboratory Methods. 5 (7) 1869-1875.
(27) Jenkins, Oliver Pebbles (1893). The Hopkins Seaside Laboratory. Zoe, 4: 58-63.
(28) Ibid.
(29) Madden, A.G. (1898). The Marine Biological Laboratory at Pacific Grove. The Overland Monthly 27: 208 -215.
(30) Jenkins, Oliver Pebbles (1893). The Hopkins Seaside Laboratory. Zoe, 4: 58-63.
(31) MacFarland, F. M. (1902). The Hopkins Seaside Laboratory. Journal of Applied Microscopy and Laboratory Methods. 5 (7) 1869-1875.
(32) Madden, A.G. (1898). The Marine Biological Laboratory at Pacific Grove. The Overland Monthly 27: 208 -215.