2026 Registration Information

CONFERENCE DATES

• Saturday, July 11: Sea Grant Educators Meeting, Board Dinner

• Sunday July 12: NMEA Board Meeting, Riverside Welcome

• Monday July 13: Plenary Session, Concurrent Sessions, Poster Session, Exhibit Hall Open, Evening Event at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

• Tuesday, July 14: Plenary Session, Concurrent Sessions, Student Day at NMEA, Exhibits, Stegner presentation, NMEA 50th Anniversary Banquet and Auction

• Wednesday, July 15: Plenary Session, Concurrent Sessions, Awards and Business Meeting, Share-a-thon, Evening Maryland Crab Feast Riverboat Cruise (ticketed)

• Thursday, July 16: Full and half-day field trips, Blue Technology Workshop

CONFERENCE LOCATION

Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina, Cambridge, MD

• Membership is not required for conference registration, but NMEA members get discounted rates. Membership expired? Renew today!

• Non-member registration includes a 1-year professional membership

Payment Options

• All registrations must be completed online. At checkout, payment may be made via check or credit card (preferred). Check payments MUST be received by June 25, 2026 to guarantee your registration. Checks should be made payable to NMEA and mailed to NMEA, Attn: Jackie Lewis, 12385 Holly Road, Ridgely, MD 21660.

• Need to pay with a Purchase Order? To pay with a PO, please complete the online registration, select “pay by check” at checkout and use that invoice for your PO. POs should be submitted electronically to NMEA Executive Administrator, Jackie Lewis at nmea@marine-ed.org. If NMEA needs to be a registered vendor with your organization, please contact Jackie.

Important Dates

• May 31, 2026: Early bird registration closes at midnight Eastern time.

• June 19, 2026: the "Cut-Off Date" for the discounted conference rate at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina. After this date, room availability and pricing will be subject to the hotel’s standard prevailing rates.

• June 25, 2026: last day to cancel or modify your registration. Cancellations or modifications requested after this date will result in the forfeiture of the entire registration fee.

• June 25, 2026: All registration closes at midnight Eastern time.

All deadlines are at 11:59 pm ET

$640 - MEMBER RATE; $725 - NON-MEMBER RATE (EARLY BIRD)

• Full access to all plenary and concurrent sessions

• Includes lunches, snacks, and evening events from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon

• Access to exhibit hall and poster session

• Recorded presentations and networking available during and after the conference on our conference app Whova

• Priceless opportunities to network and see friends and colleagues from around the world!

• Note: Field trips, Wednesday evening event, t-shirt and program are not included but can be added during registration.

$795 - SUPER FULL REGISTRATION; $880 - NON-MEMBER RATE (EARLY BIRD)

Don’t miss out on anything! The SUPER FULL REGISTRATION rate includes everything listed above PLUS the Wednesday evening event, conference T-shirt and program! Does not include field trips so don't forget to add one for the extended conference experience.

$175 - MEMBER RATE; $260 - NON-MEMBER RATE (EARLY BIRD)

• Full access to all plenary and concurrent sessions on registered day

• Includes networking lunch on registered day

• Access to exhibit hall

• Recorded presentations and networking available during and after the conference on Whova

• Priceless opportunities to network and see friends and colleagues from around the world!

• Note: Evening events and field trips are not included but can be added during registration.

$100/$25 - MEMBER RATE; $185/$110 - NON-MEMBER RATE

Can’t make it to Cambridge to join us in person? Register for our virtual conference and join us remotely! 

Please note that we are NOT live streaming any part of this year’s conference. All keynotes will be recorded and uploaded and presenters will be encouraged to upload materials from their presentations. Participants will have the opportunity to participate virtually 2 ways:

• Asynchronous Presentation submission and Whova networking - $100 (member) / $185 (non-member)

• Whova networking only access - $25 (member) / $110 (non-member)

$70 In Person / $25 Virtual Presenter / $10 Virtual Networking

Student Day at NMEA will be on Tuesday, July 14 and does not include evening events. Three registration types are available:

• Student Day in-person (full-time students 13 and over; includes lunch on student day)

• Student Asynchronous Presentation submission and Whova networking (13 and over with parent permission)

• Student Whova networking only access (13 and over with parent permission)

Chaperone Registration

Empowering Student Leaders

Student Day at NMEA is a space for young ocean advocates (ages 13+) to network, collaborate, and grow professionally. To foster independence and peer-to-peer engagement, students are strongly encouraged to attend the day’s sessions on their own.

Chaperone Policy

While we advocate for student independence, we understand that many chaperones may have driven long distances to drop off their students and prefer to remain on-site or that groups may have chaperone requirements.

• Chaperones are welcome to register and attend if required for school/organization policy, student comfort, or convenience after travel.

• A "Student Day Chaperone" pass is required and allows access to all Student Day programming on Tuesday, July 14 (Full conference attendees do not need an additional pass). 

  • Pass with no lunch - $10

  • Pass with lunch - $60

If you have any questions, contact the conference committee, nmea2026@marine-ed.org.