You may never have asked yourself the question "do sea urchins live forever"? And when you think about it, you may realise that you have no idea.

Find out on Saturday, September 20, at the annual Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences (BIOS) Marine Sciences Day.

The annual open house at the Ferry Reach institute will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free admission and parking.

Among many activities during the day, there will be an informative lecture series in Hanson Hall, by Dr. Jeanette Loram "Are Sea Urchins Immortal?"

Another lecture will be on "The Atmospheric Transport of Dust and Its Importance for Ocean Ecosystems" by Dr. Pete Sedwick.

Other topics covered by BIOS scientists will be BIOS' efforts to reach out to Bermuda teens, BIOS' efforts to monitor the health of Bermuda's marine environment, and the weather and climate change.

In addition to the lectures there will be exciting scientific displays and experiments, including hands-on displays showing tropical marine animals found in Bermuda.

Microscopes will be used to look at interesting algal and bacterial cultures.

There will be air quality and ship instruments on display. And BIOS's remotely operated vehicle (ROV), a tiny submarine that helps scientists study the deep ocean and coral reefs, will be exploring Ferry Reach throughout the day with marine science day guests in the driver's seat.

Dr. Andreas Andersson will display a creative pollution experiment to describe the process of ocean acidification using Bermuda's second favourite mode of transportation, the scooter.

Fun for all ages also on the programme are crowd favourites from previous years, such as mini-research cruises aboard the R/V Stommel, followed by a plankton lab with Dr. James Wood where you can identify what you have caught.

Children can participate in hands-on Wacky Science and Fishy Business arts & crafts, and have fun learning during BIOS's annual puppet show.

Hot food and cold drinks will also be available throughout the day. For more information please visit www.bios.edu.

*As for those sea urchins, they can live for as long as 200 years, and have been around since the dinosaur era.