They exist principally to carry out research.
Some marine laboratories focus their attention on wetlands and ecological or environmental concerns.
A few deal specifically with marine microbiology, e.g. phytoplankton and the like, microbially mediated diseases of fish or shellfish, or with remediation of such things as oil spills. The minority that have organized scientific educational programs, i.e. undergraduate or graduate level courses, welcome future teachers or in-service teachers, usually with provision of educational credit towards a Master of Science in Education degree. Also, in some cases, teachers are encouraged to spend the summer participating in one of the ongoing research projects. Formal programs to train teachers are few and no more than a handful focus on some aspect of microbiology.