Bring Marine Life Indoors

District Administration Magazine
By Ellen Ullman
June 2006

David Vaughan teaches high-school science at the Waynflete School in Portland, Maine. Although he's had an aquarium in his class for the 20 years he's taught science, he just bought a Touch Tank this year. Already, he says it's made a world of difference for his students. "The Touch Tank is lower and wider so students can lean over it and take organisms out," he says. His students check out the Touch Tank every single day, which wasn't the case with the former aquarium. "Right now we have two male lobsters jousting with each other," says Vaughan. "We read a book about lobster behavior and witnessed it firsthand."

What is a Touch Tank?

A Touch Tank is a movable acrylic aquarium that can last up to 20 years. The tank's design allows teachers to recreate sea life to a remarkable degree of accuracy. Teachers can stock it with crabs, oysters, sea cucumbers, sea stars, sand dollars, periwinkles, mussels, hermit crabs, crayfish and other species that dwell in lakes, rivers and coastal waters.

Back to Top