Chincoteague Bay Field Station

What Chincoteague Bay Field Station does

Chincoteague Bay Field Station (CBFS) is a non-profit marine science education facility located at 34001 Mill Dam Road, Wallops Island, Virginia, on the state's Eastern Shore. Founded in 1968 and operating with 11–50 staff, CBFS delivers hands-on, feet-wet experiential learning programs spanning university semester and summer courses, K-12 field trips, youth day and overnight camps, family camps, an adult summer camp, Road Scholar multi-day programs (bicycling, birding, kayaking, island exploration), a Friday Adventure Series of single-day activities, homeschool cohorts, scout badge workshops, teacher professional development, custom group programs, and outreach/community engagement. A consortium of member universities is the structural backbone of the operating model, supplying recurring student enrollment, faculty research affiliations, and internship placements.

The business model is built on one-time registration fees for programs, supplemented by donations via a Network for Good portal and adult-learner bookings distributed through the Road Scholar channel partner. Programs are delivered exclusively in person at the Wallops Island site, leveraging direct access to barrier islands, estuarine wetlands, and coastal habitats as the core experiential asset. Marketing is conducted primarily through the company website, a monthly e-newsletter, the Road Scholar platform, and referral traffic from member universities. There is no disclosed software platform, no app, no AI/ML capabilities, no patents, and no external funding rounds; the organization operates as an independent non-profit educational entity governed by its member-institution stakeholders.

Name

Chincoteague Bay Field Station

Legal name

Chincoteague Bay Field Station

Website

https://cbfieldstation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Chincoteague Bay Field Station is a non-profit marine science education facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore delivering hands-on experiential programs for universities, K-12 schools, youth and family campers, adult learners, homeschoolers, and scouts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Science Education

NAICS

Educational Services (61), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Science Camps & Field Programs (Nature, Space, Marine, Geology) (EDAMABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Outdoor & Wilderness Education Schools (Field-Based Learning) (THAAAOAA), STEM & Science Camps (Biology, Chemistry, Space, Lab Science) (EDAMALAC)

Keywords

• Marine science education
• Field station programs
• Environmental education
• Youth summer camps
• Coastal research programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Wallops Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Educational Programs and Camps: Registration fees for summer college courses, field trips, day camps, overnight camps, family camps, adult summer camp, and Road Scholar programs. Fee structures vary by program type and duration.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Chincoteague Bay Field Station is a non-profit marine and environmental education field station on Virginia's Eastern Shore that delivers hands-on, feet-wet educational programs at its Wallops Island campus. Its core offerings include university summer courses and research opportunities, day and overnight youth camps, family camps, adult summer camps, Road Scholar educational travel programs, K-12 school field trips, homeschool programs, scout badge programs, and teacher professional development workshops.

Product overview

Chincoteague Bay Field Station is a marine science education field station on Virginia's Eastern Shore providing hands-on, feet-wet educational experiences for all ages. The organization operates as a single unified offering (not a platform-plus-modules architecture) consisting of multiple distinct educational program categories: University & Research Programs (summer college courses, field trips, research opportunities), various Camp programs (youth camps with day and overnight options, family camps, adult summer camp), Road Scholar travel programs for adults, School Programs for K-12 groups, Friday Adventure Series single-day activities, Homeschool programs, Scout programs, Teacher professional development workshops, and Custom programs for specific groups. The portfolio is centered on experiential marine science education delivered at the field station location on Wallops Island, Virginia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• University & Research Programs Summer college courses, field trips, faculty research, intern research, and student research opportunities in marine science offered through CBFS's member-university consortium on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
• Youth Camps Day camps and overnight camps for young people offering hands-on marine science experiences including kayaking, exploration, and environmental education activities on the Eastern Shore.
• Family Camps Overnight camping programs designed for families to experience marine science education together through hands-on, feet-wet activities on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
• Adult Summer Camp Adult-focused summer camp programs offering marine science experiences and outdoor activities for adult participants at the field station.
• Road Scholar Programs Multi-day educational travel programs for adults aged 50+ delivered through Road Scholar, including bicycling, birding, kayaking, island discovery, and multi-generational grandchild adventures on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
• School Programs Curriculum-aligned educational programs for K-12 school groups, including classes, field experiences, and funding opportunities to support participation.
• Friday Adventure Series Single-day adventure programs at the field station, including ocean adventure, organism dissection, kayaking, edible adventures, and marsh exploration activities.
• Homeschool Programs Marine science education programs designed for homeschool families and children, providing supplemental science and social learning experiences.
• Scout Programs Marine science and outdoor education programs tailored for scouting groups, supporting badge requirements and group outdoor activities.
• Teacher Workshops Professional development programs for teachers focusing on marine science education methodologies and curriculum integration.
• Custom Programs Bespoke educational programs designed for specific groups, organizations, or institutions with tailored marine science content and scheduling.

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Road ScholarcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoad Scholar is an educational travel organization for adults 50+ that lists CBFS programs on its platform, enabling CBFS to reach adult learners interested in marine science educational experiences such as birding, kayaking, and bicycling tours of Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Duke University Marine Laboratory: Coastal marine science field station offering university courses, summer programs, and research access — operates a similar university-consortium-style academic and field-trip programming model as CBFS.
• Catalina Sea Camp: Marine science summer camp provider running youth overnight, day, family, and school programs — directly comparable hands-on youth marine science camp model in the same product category.
• Shoals Marine Laboratory: Joint Cornell/UNH-operated marine science field station on Appledore Island, Maine — directly comparable marine science field station running university summer courses, K-12 programs, and research opportunities for the same customer segments as CBFS.
• Friday Harbor Laboratories: University of Washington marine science field station — comparable coastal research and university-course field station with multi-week summer courses and K-12 outreach analogous to CBFS's university & research program line.
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Largest mid-Atlantic environmental education non-profit running hands-on Chesapeake watershed programs, school field trips, and educator workshops — directly comparable regional environmental-education mission and K-12 audience.
• Sea Education Association: Woods Hole-based ocean education organization offering semester programs, summer classes, and K-12 outreach — closely comparable curriculum-based marine education model.
• Bodega Marine Laboratory: UC Davis marine science field station delivering university courses, research opportunities, and K-12 outreach — analogous academic-affiliated coastal field station serving similar student and educator segments.
• Dauphin Island Sea Lab: Alabama-based marine science education and research facility — comparable hands-on field station with university summer courses, teacher workshops, K-12 field trips, and public programs targeting analogous audiences.
• Marine Science Institute (Redwood City): California marine science education non-profit offering youth camps, family programs, school field trips, and teacher professional development — closely comparable multi-segment educational marine science programming.

Broad incumbents

• Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL): UChicago-affiliated marine and biological research institution with affiliated education programs — broader research incumbent with comparable educational and field-station-style offerings, but at substantially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cbfieldstation
• Xx.com/cbfieldstation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chincoteague-bay-field-station

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chincoteague Bay Field Station