Programs and Lectures

Our approach to education at RIMS is “hands-on”. Instruction is geared toward spending as much time as possible in the marine environment. By far, the most effective educational tool we offer is the reef itself. Several dive boats will be at your service to provide access to different locations along our well-developed reef system. Our full service dive operation supplies you with the tanks and gear so you may spend much of your trip where you should be—underwater. While our primary focus is the marine environment, RIMS can also facilitate the study of cultural interests and tropical terrestrial interests, including island geology, botany, ornithology and ethnology.

Most of the education received is in the field, underwater, and on the reef. Unfortunately water is not the best medium in which to instruct and dive slates quickly fill up. In order to have a better understanding of what students will encounter, the staff at RIMS can offer lecture and slide show presentations to enhance the field experience. These lectures provide important introductions to the integrated tropical marine communities of Roatan and the organisms that inhabit them.

Coral reef lecture series

Lectures by marine biologist on coral identification and reef monitoring, reef fish, invertebrates and mangrove communities of Roatan.

Dolphin lecture series

Depending on depth of material requested, we offer two, four and six hour programs.

Note: Lecture series cover topics such as an introduction to cetaceans, indigenous populations, anatomy, physiology, senses, cognition, communication, behavior and conservation issues.