Fast Fact

Welcome to the Prince William Sound Science Center, located in Cordova, Alaska. Since 1989 we have facilitated and conducted research and education programs to increase our understanding of the Prince William Sound and Copper River Delta ecosystems. These programs emphasize the long-term diversity, and health and sustainability of resources upon which local people depend, while also serving a multitude of stakeholders in the broader region.

PWSSC is taking a leading role in understanding ecological change in a world where shifts in atmospheric and ocean climate threaten livelihoods and pose difficult problems for those managing and enhancing the planet’s important living resources.

Scientific Research is an important mainstay of what we do. This research can be categorized in three areas:

(1) Biological Monitoring and Investigations including but not limited to salmon, herring and plankton population assessments; investigations of the intertidal, shorebird and fish ecology on the Copper River Delta; and food web analysis and Steller sea lion observations.

(2) Oceanographic Observations including hydrographic and salinity surveys and ocean current investigations.

And, (3) Ecological Applications including exploring alternative seafood waste processing, synthesis of studies conducted in the Greater Prince William Sound region and development of interactive, web-based data bases focused on this region

Our education programs are exciting and dynamic. They reach a diverse audience and provide experiences rich in science content. More than 6,000 people learn about science and PWS from our programs.

More than 400 students in Cordova and the villages of Tatitlek and Chenega Bay have a solid science curriculum because of PWSSC and its partnership with the schools.

Our Discovery Room is a place where elementary age kids are exposed to science through hands-on activities focused on themes which are built upon throughout the school year.

Our staff coordinates Community Programs like Sound Science, Discovery Packs, Field Notes radio program, Earth Day celebration, and an array of workshops and presentations.

Secondary Education Programs include the Youth Education Leadership Program, Science Club, Field Trips, Science Festival, National Ocean Science Bowl, and classroom presentations.

A wide variety of Summer Programming includes science camps, activity days, and adult programming.

Partnerships are vital to our work. We work with dozens of organizations and state and federal agencies to achieve our goals. An example is our work with the Alaska Ocean Observing System to pilot a PWS Observing System (PWSOS) project. Goals of this project are to integrate observations and provide easily accessible data about the past, current and future states (physical, chemical and biological) of Alaska’s oceans and coastal marine waters and resources. As part of an evolving national program, this system currently includes web cams, meteorological data, ocean observations and ocean and atmospheric models.