Tour the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach Nov. 17

Students at the touch tanks with starfish

Visitors check out the sea stars in the touch tanks at Open Pier Day in April 2011.

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Bring the kids and the camera and tour the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach on Saturday, Nov. 17, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Interactive displays on the pier for the fall "open house" event will include special touch-tanks full of live marine creatures, microscopes for viewing ultra-small sea creatures, a "discover SCUBA" experience and more.

Cal Poly professors and students will be on hand to explain their ongoing research into local marine life, including Morro Bay's ecosystem, sustaining local fisheries and mapping ocean currents on the Central Coast.

Tour displays at your own pace and ask questions of the Cal Poly faculty and students. Bring your camera to take close-up pictures of sea creatures or photos of the incredible coastal views from the pier.

The Cal Poly Pier is a little more than a half-mile long (1.2 miles round trip), and displays will be located at the ocean end. Safety rules require that everyone admitted to the pier wear closed-toe walking shoes (no flip-flops or high heels).

The Cal Poly Pier is located on Avila Beach Drive, just west of the San Luis Creek Bridge. Parking is very limited near the pier. Pier tour attendees are encouraged to park in the public parking lots in Avila Beach and walk to the pier.

The pier is the hub of research for Cal Poly's Center for Coastal Marine Sciences and the SLOSEA program. Since its donation to the university by the Chevron Corporation (formerly Unocal) in 2001, the pier has been used by 1,500 students per year for classes or research activities.

For more information, call: 805-756-6777.

Note: Rain will cancel the event.

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Note to editors: For print-quality jpgs from past "Open Pier" events, contact Rachel Henry at rrhenry@calpoly.edu.