Biology Field Station
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Purdue University North Central's Biology Field Station provides laboratory facilities and lodging for students and researchers. It is operated in cooperation with the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore of the National Park Service. The fully accessible field station is winterized and heated, and is available throughout the year.
The field station is
leased by Purdue North Central from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (National Park Service) on a renewable 5 year term. Location: Central Avenue , Beverly Shores, IN. Latitude: 41°70' N Longitude: 86°95' 00"W. Elevation: 182 m.
Teaching
The facility is available for classes of 10 to 15 students.
Vegetation Types
The predominant vegetation type in the immediate vicinity of the field station is dunes successional stages from initial colonization of sand dunes near the beach on Lake Michigan to climax plant communities of black oak. Just south of the field station is an extensive bottomland forest dominated by sycamore and red maple. Within fifteen miles of the field station are an extensive array of bogs, fens, pannes, black oak savannah, tall-grass prairie remnants, and small glacial lakes. Much of the early work on plant ecology in North America was done at the Indiana Dunes by Henry Cowles and others.
Lake Michigan Boat Access
There is no direct access to a boat launch to Lake Michigan at the field station although kayaks and canoes can be launched from the beach which is 100 meters from the field station. The Michigan City Marina is 3.0 miles east of the field station and can be accessed through a cooperative arrangement with the port authority. Although the field station does not currently have a boat suitable for Lake Michigan, dive excursions can be arranged through Indiana DNR and the US Coast Guard, both which have stations at the marina.
Driving Directions and Map:
Go North on 421 and cut across west (left) to County Line Road at any point off of Hwy 421 including Snyder Road (just North of track underpass), W 300 N (at Harley Dealership), West Kieffer Road (at Speedway just south of Michigan City) or at Hwy 20. In the last case go west for about 4 miles on Hwy 20 and turn right at county line road (the RV dealership). The rest of the directions are described below. In the other routes go north on County line road across Hwy 20 until the road T's. Turn left and go west for about a quarter mile. Turn north (right) at Central Avenue just past Joe's Bar and Grill; there are stone gate posts at the entrance. Go north on Central Avenue to Beverly Shores drive (stop sign) and continue on until you see the field station on your left (its the only house). Park in the field station lot or Central Beach parking lot and not on the street.
Get to I-94 and follow the directions from either west or east of Michigan City .
Get off of I-94 at Chesterton (Hwy 49) or at Michigan City (Hwy 421). In the first case go north to east Hwy 20 or east Hwy 12. On 12 continue east for about 8 miles to Central Avenue (just east of the Town of Pines ) then follow the directions above. On 20 continue east until the Hwy 12 cutoff at the Town of Pines . Go east another mile on Hwy 12 and Turn north (left) at Central Avenue just before Joe's Bar and Grill; there are stone gate posts at the entrance. Go north on Central Avenue to Beverly Shores drive (stop sign) and continue on until you see the field station on your left (its the only house). Park in the field station lot or Central beach parking lot just north of the field station and not on the street.
Get off I-94 at Hwy 421 ( Michigan City ) and go north. From here follow the directions given for “From Campus” above.
Parking
A maximum of approximately fifteen cars can park in the field station parking lot. Buses and additional cars can park in the Central Avenue Beach parking lot just north of the Field Station which has about 50 spaces.
Fees for Accommodation:
$12.00/person/night or a weekly rate is available for $75.00/person/week.
Living Accommodations
The field station can currently accommodate ten people in beds with three bedrooms available; two with two bunk beds, and one with two twin beds. Another five people can be accommodated on heavy-duty mattress cots. Each room has a desk and chair. There are no separate dorms or cabins.
No food service is available, however, there is a kitchen area with, fridge, stove and microwave. There is also a complete set of cookware, cooking utensils, and dishes. There is a barbeque for use by visitors as well as two large hexagonal picnic tables outside. There is a living room with couches and television with a CD/VHS player. A washer and dryer are available for use downstairs.
Disabled Accessibility
The field station is wheel chair accessible to both upstairs and downstairs. The downstairs bathroom shower is also wheel chair accessible.
Teaching Facilities
There is seating for 16 downstairs at tables for lectures or lab work as well as a pull-down projection screen. Upstairs, one of the bedrooms can easily be made into part of the living room by pushing a steel door partition out of the way. This space is available for teaching or small conferences with seating for a maximum of about 25 people. There is also a pull-down screen available upstairs.
Laboratory Facilities
The downstairs room is ideally set up for laboratory space. There is a downstairs lab sink and storage freezer and utility sink in the garage. The furnace room has considerable cabinet space for storage as well as countertops for equipment. There are no natural gas connections and no animal facilities.
There are several high-quality dissecting microscopes at the field station for visitor use. There is also a nice collection of field guides for local plant and animal identification.
Computer Equipment
The field station currently has dial-up modem internet service on a dedicated phone line. We are looking into faster satellite or wireless possibilities at this time.
Five computers are available for patron use with some in bedrooms, one in the living room, and one in the furnace room lab area. A printer is available for use at a charge per sheet.
Undergraduate Courses
There are several undergraduate and dual-level graduate courses offered during the regular school year including Ecology, Aquatic Botany, Natural History of Northwest Indiana, and Capstone Seminar.
Graduate Summer Courses
Plans are underway to develop summer graduate courses in Dune Ecology and Wetland Ecology.
Faculty
There are no resident faculty at the facility although several use the facility for teaching and research.
Undergraduate Interns
There is a strong interest in developing summer internship programs for students especially in cooperation with the Indiana Dunes State Park and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
For more information contact Dr. Robin Scribailo, at (219) 785-5255.
