A program aiming to teach young people about the marine science world with hands-on activities opened Tuesday. Coastal Marine Biolabs is a nonprofit organization with an integrative biosciences educational program.

The center in Ventura Harbor will offer bioscience laboratories for local students to practice scientific experiments with standard technology. The base tuition is $1,480.

"We are trying to use science as a tool. We hope that by doing a program like this, we get them ready to succeed in any field anywhere in life," said Linda Santschi, scientific co-director for CMB, who had the idea for the program about three years ago. The program is open to all students, not only science students, she said.

The facility will offer a curriculum with eight intensive projects in which the students will take part in a nine-day, hands-on marine life program. The curriculum offered is bioluminescence, genetic variation, bioacoustics, chemical signals, biomaterial, microchemical analysis, kelp forest monitoring, and phytoplankton biomass and composition.

The 2,000-square-foot center is equipped with four labs. It also has a saltwater tank with marine sponges and starfish, and a small donated aquarium.

"We want to get the idea that science is cool," said Victor De Las Casas, who will be assisting the students with the biomicroscopes and other biotechnology.

The students will work in the field, in the labs and on dive activities. CMB is providing scuba diving equipment for underwater photography and videography workshops.

"We are going to be mentors and advisers, not teachers," Santschi said. Students from the Camino Nuevo High School in Los Angeles will be the first group participating in the program in June.

The center also offers a two-day career development program for teachers to help them keep pace with bioscience technology. The teachers participating in the program will earn educational units, Santschi said.

"Our long-term vision is to develop an open-source technology," Santschi said, for those students who want to return to work on high school projects.

The organization provides science resources to the students they don't have in their high schools, said Zoe Taylor, president of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce.

"This is going to put into practice the integrative critical thinking to help them succeed in the complex world that we live in," Taylor said. Teachers will learn updated information to better teach their sciences courses, she said.

Theresa Gilly, educational director for the program, said students will learn marine science that eventually will help them improve their science test scores in high school.

"We want to bring our expertise to kids ... to inspire some young lives with the fundamentals," said Santschi, who has been in the science field for more than 15 years.

Students and teachers interest in the program can download applications at http://www.coastalmarinebiolabs.org.