The Ark, an 84-foot (26-metre) lighter, was fitted out as a floating laboratory by the father of modern oceanography, Sir John Murray.

In Millport, an amateur naturalist, David Robertson, was encouraged by meeting Anton Dohrn and by the wealth of findings from the Challenger expedition.

In May 1897, Sir John Murray formally opened Millport Marine Biological Station, situated near Keppel Pier.

[2] In May 2014 a four-million-pound package of funding was announced that is intended to allow a comprehensive programme of development and refurbishment to be completed over five years.

[8] In 2020 the centre was shortlisted for a Nature of Scotland Business Award for their work connecting visitors with the island's coasts and waters.