About SERC Institute

History

The Schoodic Education and Research Center Institute, or SERC Institute, was created in 2004 as Acadia Partners for Science and Learning, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Schoodic Education and Research Center of Acadia National Park. The Schoodic Education and Research Center is one of about 20 research learning centers in the United States, and is the largest of all these facilities. SERC is located on a former Navy base in Winter Harbor, Maine, and encompasses more than 20 buildings and over 80 acres of forest edged with rocky coastline.

Mission

The mission of SERC Institute is to guide present and future generations to greater understanding and respect for nature by providing research and learning opportunities through its outstanding Acadia National Park setting, unique coastal Maine facilities, and innovative partnership programs. SERC will become a world-class research and learning institution, providing knowledge and transformational experiences necessary for harmony between humankind and the natural world.

SERC Institute and Acadia National Park work together to create a unique research learning center dedicated to supporting scientific research in the park, providing professional development for teachers, and educating students to become a new generation of stewards who will help conserve our natural and cultural treasures.

SERC Institute and Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park has provided the funding to renovate the campus, establish rooms and apartments for resident students and scientists, and build a state of the art teaching auditorium. The Park has received recovery funds from the federal government to improve the roads, renovate additional buildings, and recreate the landscape to provide a more pedestrian-friendly campus. In addition, a private donor has provided a large gift to renovate the 1935 Rockefeller apartment building on campus into a visitor welcome center, office space, and a handicapped accessible apartment.

SERC Institute has raised the funding to support the education programs at SERC, including multi-year grants from the Maine Department of Education and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Forming an intersection between science and education, The Institute seeks to advance two critical issues facing Maine and the United States: significantly improving the teaching of science and math in our public schools and protecting our country’s natural ecosystems. The scientific research and educational programs that are promoted at Acadia National Park are critical to the achievement of both of these goals.

The unique public-private partnership between the SERC Institute and Acadia National Park enables the two organizations to work together to bring researchers, educators, and students to the park to use the park’s diverse ecosystems as classrooms and to conduct field research. A central goal is to promote the understanding, protection, and conservation of the natural and cultural resources of the park and the region. An equally important goal is the advancement of significant research projects at local, regional, national, and international levels.