As part of Oakley Science Week, the Delta Science Center (DSC) will be offering Extreme Delta – Inland Voyage on Saturday, May 7. The free event provides an up-close exposure with the wildlife and ecosystem that surrounds our Oakley shorelines.

Representatives of the Marine Science Institute (MSI) will bring along some of the aquatic life found in the Delta and Bay regions, including a tiger shark. While tiger sharks don’t usually enter the Delta area, they’re part of the San Francisco Bay life system – and what happens in the Bay has a large impact on what happens in the Delta. MSI instructors will give a 50-minute demonstration on that and more.

The event features three show times: 10:30 and 11:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. Spaces are limited, and sign-ups will be taken only at the event site the day of the event.

Along with the Delta Science Center activities, Ironhouse Sanitary District will be on hand with a fun and useful craft project to help attendees young and old understand the importance of keeping fats, oils and grease out of drains and sewer systems.

Also on hand at the event will be the Diablo Water District, which will provide demonstrations and activities to help remind people about the Delta and the water we all drink.

“The whole event will be fun and informative and a great addition to the Oakley Science Week,” said DSC President Mike Painter. “The Delta is one of the most important yet misunderstood natural resources of California.”

The Delta Science Center’s mission is to help educate the public. Presently the group is working on providing educational programs for Delta youth and adults, as well as teachers.

One of DSC’s major goals for 2011 is to help raise funds so that more local fifth-grade students will be able to attend the MSI’s educational voyages on the Delta with the Robert Brownlee tours. The group is also working on providing a special Delta seminar in the fall for local teachers.

The Delta Science Center is anxiously awaiting the opening of the Delta Science Center at Big Break Regional Shoreline, which is expected to be completed in the fall. The East Bay Regional Park District is working to make sure the dream that started so many years ago with a handful of Oakley residents becomes a reality.

Once the building is up and running, the DSC will be able to provide even more programs right along the Delta shoreline.

Extreme Delta – Inland Voyage will take place Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ironhouse Sanitary District offices, 450 Walnut Meadows Drive in Oakley (off Main Street and District Way, across from Rose Avenue under the railroad tracks).