Touch Tanks Bring Sea to Life

Portland Press Herald
Touch tanks bring sea to life
By Seth Harkness, Staff Writer
Staff photo by Doug Jones
Thursday, March 1, 2007

Suzanne Eder, left, of the Children's Museum of Maine, points out the sea creatures in the touch tank for visitors Colby Giroux, 4, and his grandmother Nancy Giroux, left, and Lilly Oldershaw, 3, helped by her dad, Raymond, who carries his son Lucas, 1 1/2, on his back.

Biddeford, Maine -- The baby flounder in the 100-gallon aquarium set up in an old Biddeford mill building was about as small as a child's hand.

It's just the right size for a fish living in a tank designed for children to reach in and learn about the marine environment. About 30 of these tanks, built in Biddeford and distributed by the nonprofit Touch Tanks for Kids, are set up in schools and museums around the country.

The cold-water tanks, made of transparent plastic with wide, open tops, are built so children can interact with the aquarium's inhabitants. The nine tanks set up in Maine, include the sort of plants and animals that dwell in the state's coastal waters: lobsters, sea urchins, star fish, whelks, rock weed, anemones and others.

"It's very popular," said the director of exhibits at the Children's Museum of Maine, Steven Oliver, of the museum's aquarium. "It's a hands-on activity that allows (children) to explore what local sea life is like."

If Touch Tanks for Kids meets its goals, the tanks may become a fixture in most Maine schools. The group intends to try to place 50 tanks in classrooms around the state this year and up to 100 in the following year, said director Mike Martin.

The nonprofit group, which is awaiting tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service, was started a couple years ago by Joe Zucchero, a Portland lobster dealer whose company, Marine Ecological Habitats, builds museum-quality aquariums in Biddeford. Zucchero has since handed off management of the group to Martin, a former political campaign worker in Augusta. Currently, the group's funding comes from Zucchero's company and private donations.

Touch Tanks for Kids works with schools to help them come up with the funding to buy the $7,000 tanks. St. James School in Biddeford was one of the first schools to work with the nonprofit to acquire a tank. The group has also helped place tanks in Lincoln Middle School and Wayneflete School in Portland.

The next step for Touch Tanks for Kids is to collaborate with other nonprofits in the development of a marine science curriculum that could be used in conjunction with the tank, said Martin.

Zucchero said he believes the biggest asset of the rectangular touch tanks is the opportunity they provide for children to engage with the sea creatures. "Every day children come into the classroom to see what the developments are," he said. "You get a better understanding of what is actually happening on the ocean floor."

At the Children's Museum, Oliver said the tank works as intended and was a good investment for the museum. While staff and volunteers provide lessons in marine ecology, he said children generally like to get their hands wet as they learn. "Kids and their families love to check out all the creatures and feel them," he said.

At the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, curator Ben Fuller said his staff uses their tank a little differently. Each summer, the durable tank is set up to offer visitors a glimpse of a typical Gulf of Maine lobster lair, with a crustacean or two living among a pile of rocks. When the museum closes for the season, however, the tank is shut off and the lobster serves a different purpose.

"The lobster goes home and becomes dinner," Fuller said.

Contact Staff Writer Seth Harkness at 282-8225 or at: sharkness@pressherald.com

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