Lobster College, a Learning Vacation on the Maine Coast
Contact: Cathy Billings, Lobster Institute, 207-581-2751, Dianne Ward, Kenniston Hill Inn B&B, 207-633-2159
ORONO, Me. – No SATs required, no essay tests, and some of the most luxurious dorm rooms ever — those are some of the inviting characteristics of Lobster College, a popular program from the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine.
Organizers are accepting registrations for this unique learning vacation, organized by the Lobster Institute and hosted again this year by the Kenniston Hill Inn Bed & Breakfast in Boothbay, Maine. Lobster College is an educational adventure designed for people interested in enjoying a fun extended weekend on the Maine coast. It’s a chance to learn everything and anything there is to know about Maine’s premier crustacean. The event is scheduled for September 17-20.
Kenniston Hill Inn B&B will serve as home base for Lobster College. Participants will enjoy the gracious hospitality of host Dianne Ward at this classic 1786 shipbuilder’s mansion. More about the inn is online at http://kennistonhillinn.waffl.com/.
Various field trips are scheduled throughout the Boothbay Harbor area as part of the curriculum.
“Folks who join us for Lobster College will experience hands-on and on-site learning about lobsters directly from people who work in the lobster industry, as well as from University of Maine faculty. We’ve based Lobster College in the heart of lobstering country, at one of the most picturesque areas on the coast of Maine,” says Prof. Robert Bayer, executive director of the Lobster Institute.
“We’ll be taking a trip out to haul traps, we’ll visit a working lobster wharf, and we’ll provide lectures on a variety of lobster-related topics. We’ll even show you how to bait a trap,” he adds.
According to Bayer, those who enroll in Lobster College will learn about lobster biology and ecology, value-added lobster products, lobster cuisine, stock management and other areas within the lobster industry. “And of course, there will be plenty of lobster to eat,” Bayer says. “At our last Lobster College graduation, we counted them up and found that we had enjoyed ten different lobster dishes during the course of the weekend.”
Students from last year’s Lobster College came from Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida, Maine – and even Australia.
In addition to being an educational program, Lobster College doubles as a fundraiser for the Lobster Institute. The Institute is a research and outreach organization with a mission of protecting, conserving and enhancing the vitality of the lobster as a resource, and lobstering as an industry and as a way of life. It was founded jointly by people from the lobster industry and faculty at the University of Maine.
Enrollment for Lobster College is limited to the first 20 “students”, and the deadline to enroll is August 31. Tuition is $575 per person (including all lobster meals) and room rates range from $450-$570 for the entire weekend. Information about Lobster College, including cost and how to register, and about other programs and services of the Lobster Institute, is available at www.lobsterinstitute.org or by calling (207)581-2751or (207)581-1443.