Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA

Over 80 years of Ocean Research, Education and Exploration.

Mission Statement:

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is dedicated to research and education to advance understanding of the ocean and its interaction with the Earth system, and to communication this understanding for the benefit of society.

It was a great day for a drive down to Falmouth, which we eventually found, but first we stumbled into Woods Hole.  The name Woods Hole was familiar but it wasn't until we got into the town that I realized where we were and where this famous Institution was located.  I love happy surprised like this.

The ferry below goes to Martha's Vineyard, just east and down the road from Falmouth.

Just around the corner from our parking spot we saw this Exhibition Center.  So we went exploring.  What an interesting surprise.

It seems almost all the large homes in Woods Hole have been gobbled up and are being used as supplement buildings for labs and research offices.  Below is a beautiful old church that is now an Exhibition Center for the Institution.

Once inside we came upon a small but interesting exhibit on the Titanic.  My photo  of a photo shows the evolving technology for underwater photography. This first photo is 100 pieced together from 53,000 images taken from the Angus sled towed through the depths.  It took over 700 hours to make this photo.

In 2004, 17 years later a higher resolution mosaic was made from  merging 756 images and took 80 hours by comparison to make.

No objects were removed from the Titanic by the Institution.  Instead they placed two plaques, one on the bow section in recognition of the joint French-American team that found the wreck, and the other on the stern in memory of the souls that perished.

One piece of information that surprised me was how close the Titanic was to land and to Cape Cod when she sank.

This specimen of wood shows how destructive the Teredo Mollusks can be on wood.  Commonly called ship worms, the Teredo is an extremely long clam, boring into wood and excreting an enzyme to soften the wood.  Detergents use a similar enzyme in laundry soap.

The front of the Exhibit Center.

This small draw bridge in town has apparently been the local kids graffiti item.

A beautiful little cat boat.

Down a short alley is the entrance to world famous Shuckers.




And doesn't every town have a building with a ship sticking out the front?

These road signs gave us both a good laugh.  They must be unique to Massachusetts because we'd never seen them before getting here.

We drove through Falmouth on our way back and came across this beautiful beach.  Talked to a few locals and headed back north for some chow.

This water was every bit as cold as the so called heated pool water at the park.  I could only stand in it long enough to get this picture of proof that I walked into the waters of Cape Cod.

Barnacle Bills was a great restaurant.  Just a mom and pop type of place but the best fish and chips I've ever eaten.  We shared Bill's fish and chips and my clam strips roll.  Mighty yummy.

There was a lot more to Woods Hole than we had access to see.  At least now I know just where it is and what it's about.  Thanks for visiting and come back soon.