Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce The Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce is a research center that specializes in Floridian marine ecosystems and lifeforms. The research is focused mostly on the Indian River Lagoon and also on the offshore waters of Florida's central and east coast. The first director of the station was Mary Rice, who was also instrumental in its founding. The station is a part of the National Museum of Natural History, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, D.C. Its purpose is to be a field station which will draw scientists and students from
Smithsonian Ocean Portal approximately 94% of all Smithsonian collections. About one-third of NMNH collections and staff focus on the marine realm. NMNH houses the world's largest marine collection, originating from marine research efforts that date back 160 years. In a first for any Smithsonian Institution website, the Smithsonian Ocean Portal is built on a LAMP architecture using the free, open-source software called Drupal. The New York-based web developer Funny Garbage designed and built the Smithsonian Ocean Portal. The Beta version of the website went live in December 2009. Three months later, in March 2010, the National Museum of Natural History launched "What Does