Open weekends 10am-4pm
Located just up the hill from Goat Island beach The Marine Discovery Centre offers a variety of interactive experiences for all ages.
Explore New Zealand’s marine life using our BIGEYE microscopes, living touch tank, sound tunnel, and more. There are fun activity trails for the kids and learn all about the research being undertaken at the University of Auckland’s Institute of Marine Science.
Research
Research at the Institute of Marine Science
Alongside the Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre is a world-class marine research centre, the Leigh Marine Laboratory.
A part of the University’s Institute of Marine Science, the purpose-built centre attracts research graduates from Auckland, New Zealand and around the world. The aim of the research is to help create a greater understanding of the marine environment.
Find out about the research at the Institute of Marine Science.
Find out about the Joint Graduate School in Social and Marine Science
History
Edith Winstone Blackwell Foundation
In 2008, the Edith Winstone Blackwell Foundation donated $4.5 million to the $10 million upgrade of the Leigh Marine Campus including the Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre. The benevolence of the Foundation ensures the Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre has the facilities to teach the next generation about our marine environment.