The Laboratory's research ranges from microbial oceanography to the large-scale biogeochemical processes that drive ocean ecosystems and health of the entire planet.

Education and outreach programs rely on other sources of support, primarily contributions from individuals and private philanthropic foundations.

[8] Most of these are the microscopic life that drives global biogeochemical processes and forms the base of the ocean’s food web — including phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteria, archaea, viruses, and protists.

[10] At the high school level, Bigelow Laboratory offers the annual Keller BLOOM (Bigelow Laboratory Orders Of Magnitude) program[11] for Maine high school juniors, as well as the BLOOM Educators program to help Maine teachers to bring ocean science into their classrooms.

[16] Each summer, more than 30 students from across the country travel to East Boothbay to conduct original research under the mentorship of Bigelow Laboratory scientists.