What a Splash! NMEA 2026 “Meeting of the Waters” was Unforgettable!

The 50th Annual NMEA Conference in Cambridge, MD, was one for the history books! Hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association (MAMEA), at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, marine educators from all over came together from July 12–16 for five straight days of science, stories, disco moves, and serious blue-planet energy.

Highlights From an Epic 50th Anniversary Week

  • Welcome Conference Affiliates: We are thrilled to give a huge, warm welcome to our inaugural 2026 Conference Affiliate Partners, celebrating 50 years of NMEA by building strong, lasting connections across our ocean education community!

  • Board Games & Bidding Wars: We kicked off Sunday playing FinSpan—which sparked an absolute silent auction feeding frenzy—before soaking up a gorgeous sunset at the Riverside Welcome on the shores of the Choptank River!

  • Twister Champions & Maritime Fun: Monday brought inspiring plenaries from Chief Donna Abbott sharing the traditional ecological knowledge of the local indigenous people and Jorge Bogantes Montero sharing about freshwater mussel restoration and education efforts in the Anacostia River, followed by a large menu of concurrent sessions to learn from, and topped off with a trip to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum where the GOMMEA chapter twisted their way to victory in an intense Chapter Twister showdown! 

  • Disco Fever & Dancing: Tuesday featured an otterly amazing talk by Karen McDonald, inspiring insights from Imani Black of Minorities in Aquaculture, a soulful Underground Railroad musical performance, another schedule packed with amazing concurrent session options, and students joined us for Student Day at NMEA. Tuesday evening we danced the night away in full disco glam for our 50th Banquet!

  • Crab Feasts & Resilient Futures: Wednesday kept the hype alive with climate & hurricane-tracking plenaries with members of the Dorchester County Health Department (Hannah Mayhew, Theresa Perry, and La’Toya Jackson), and Caroline Wiernicki, a researcher from University of Delaware, even more concurrent sessions, a packed-house Share-A-Thon, chapter basket bidding wars, a special showing of Blue Carbon, and a scenic river cruise topped off with a classic Maryland crab pickin' feast.

  • Field Trip Adventures: Thursday closed out with the Blue Technology Education Workshop alongside epic outdoor trips—kayaking, sailing on the historic skipjack Nathan, exploring Blackwater Wildlife Refuge, and birding at Pickering Creek!

A Wave of Gratitude to Our Supporters & Crew!

Huge gratitude goes out to our incredible sponsors—BIMS (Black in Marine Science), NOAA Office of Education, NOAA Ocean Exploration, National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation, National Center for Science Education (NCSE), Blue Robotics, SEAL (Sea Level Rise Education, Awareness, and Literacy), Aquaculture Information Exchange, RescueOne Training for Life, MAMEA Smack (Past Presidents), NMEA Past Presidents Circle, NC Sea Grant, VA Sea Grant, MD Sea Grant, DE Sea Grant, NJ Sea Grant Consortium, Atlantic Kayak Company, William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS, Xylem Watermark, Science Story Inspiration, and S3AM—for generously powering our conference!

We also extend a heartfelt thank you to our hard-working conference committee, dedicated conference committee members and volunteers, enthusiastic exhibitors, and generous auction donors who worked behind the scenes to make this 50th-anniversary celebration run seamlessly from start to finish.

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