You are standing in front of a timeline titled “SERC’s Story.” To your left is the front door of the house. To your right is a graphic panel titled “SERC Today.”

The timeline in front of you is divided into three panels, from left to right. The first panel covers the period from the 1960s to the 1980s. The second panel covers the period from the 1990s to the 2000s. The third panel covers the period from the 2010s to the 2020s. Each panel includes text and several images.

1960s to 1970s
Robert Lee Forrest dies in 1962, leaving his 368-acre farm and $1.7 million to the Smithsonian Institution.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (originally known as the Chesapeake Bay Center for Field Biology) opens in 1965.

The accompanying black-and-white photo shows derelict farm buildings that provided the initial offices and labs for SERC.

SERC begins long-term weather and water quality monitoring.

SERC constructs the stream weir system for watershed research on nutrient pollution. This research later expands to the entire 64,000-square-mile Chesapeake Bay watershed.

SERC’s work/learn internship and school field trip programs begin.

The accompanying black-and-white photo shows SERC’s summer ecology program, 1973. A man and a woman wearing bellbottoms stand in front of an ecology display in a tent.

Another black-and-white photo shows SERC Director Dr. Francis Williamson and an assistant attaching a band to a bird’s leg, ca. 1972. Dr. Williamson has a pipe in his mouth.

In 1974, zoologist Dr. Jim Lynch becomes SERC’s first full-time scientist.
The accompanying black-and-white photo shows a man standing next to a tree holding a pen and a notebook with a pair of binoculars hanging from his neck.

Another black-and-white photo shows chemistry technician Joe Miklas working in a laboratory, ca. 1975.

1980s
Trails and canoe tours open to the public. The accompanying photo shows an aerial view of SERC’s campus in the 1980s. It shows a variety of buildings surrounded by trees.

SERC creates the Global Change Research Wetland (GCREW) to study how coastal marshes respond to global environmental change.

GCREW is home to several long-term experiments studying how coastal wetland ecosystems cope with accelerated sea level rise.
The accompanying photo shows two men working with equipment in the middle of a marsh.

SERC launches the Marine Invasive Species Program.
The accompanying photo shows a closeup of someone’s hands measuring a small organism using calipers.

Staff begin conducting blue crab and fish surveys in the Rhode River.
The accompanying photo shows the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), one of the Chesapeake Bay’s iconic species.

A large photo overlaps along the bottom of the three timeline panels. It shows trees lining the banks of the Rhode River.

1990s
Staff begin UV monitoring at the on-site weather tower. SERC’s meteorological tower is part of the National Ecological Observatory Network, which collects ecological data across the country to understand how ecosystems are changing.
The accompanying photo shows four men in hard hats standing at the base of a metal tower surrounded by trees.

SERC begins tracking commercial shipping nationwide as part of the 1996 National Invasive Species Act. Commercial shipping can introduce aquatic organisms, including invasive species, to new environments.
The accompanying photo shows a ship passing under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay.

The Philip D. Reed Education Center opens to the public. The Reed Education Center includes a multipurpose classroom, library, exhibit hall, and office space.
The accompanying photo shows the outside of the building, which has red bricks, light blue siding, and white columns.

2000s
SERC launches the mercury pollution program.
The accompanying photo shows a technician with SERC’s microbial ecology lab collecting samples to test for mercury, a global pollutant. The technician is in the water wearing diving gear with a rack of test tubes floating in front of them. Another photo shows a SERC scientist working in the lab.

SERC acquires a neighboring farm, expanding its campus to 2,650 acres. 

Staff and volunteers begin archaeological digs.

2010s
SERC opens the sustainable Mathias Laboratory. The Mathias Laboratory is the Smithsonian’s first LEED-Platinum building.
The accompanying photo shows a gleaming modern building beneath a blue sky.

SERC finds new invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay and Alaska and makes discoveries on plants and climate change.
The accompanying photo shows the invasive reed Phragmites australis, which began taking over U.S. wetlands in the 1970s. It shows a group of tall reeds with a cloudy sky above.

SERC stabilizes the Java Mansion ruins.
The accompanying photo shows the ruins of a brick building, held together by metal beams in the shape of a house.

SERC establishes the Smithsonian Environmental Archaeology Laboratory and Participatory Science archaeology program.

2020s
The Woodlawn History Center welcomes visitors to SERC’s campus and displays archaeological finds uncovered by volunteer scientists.
The accompanying photo shows Woodlawn House today.

SERC continues to expand its scientific research and public programs to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century.
The accompanying photo shows two boys and a woman paddling through SERC’s campus in a canoe. The caption reads: Visitors enjoy SERC’s campus.