BAR HARBOR – The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory dedicated a new 16-bed dormitory Thursday to address a housing crunch on the small campus.

The dorm was completed in May and students moved in the same weekend, testament to the need for more housing, said Jeri Bowers, director of development for the lab.

The dorm cost about $460,00 to build. The school received a grant to cover half of the cost and raised private funding for the remainder, including a $75,000 gift from a Boston foundation that wanted to remain anonymous, lab officials said.

The lab, founded in 1898, built its first student dorm 100 years later. The lab provides small apartments for resident scientists, Bowers said.

Sixty students study at the lab in Salisbury Cove during the summer and another 64 take classes through the winter.

The nonprofit lab has three missions, according to officials: to promote research and education in the biology of marine organisms; to foster understanding and preservation of the environment; and to advance human health.