by David Flint
Excited second-graders from Berlin Elementary School got a chance to learn something about marine biology last week. On Thursday morning they gathered around fish tanks in the Middle/High School library as high school students explained about sea life. This was hands on learning. They could actually reach in the tanks and feel the little Cat Sharks swimming by or handle a sea star or spider crab. [private]The occasion was Science Teacher Matt Christian’s opportunity to show off a major new asset of Berlin Central School’s science program, a 100 gallon Touch Tank. Christian teaches an elective one-year course in marine biology. He has 15 students this year and it was these students who became instructors for the day, passing on their knowledge and interest to the second-graders.
Christian was instrumental three years ago in having a 175 gallon coral reef aquarium donated to the school. That tank, along with an additional demonstration Touch Tank on loan from the Capital District Marine Aquarist Society (CDMAS), figured as one of the stations for the second-graders in last week’s program.
Christian explained that the Berlin school now has a partnership with the Long Island Aquarium to provide live marine specimens for the tanks. The Cat Sharks in the Touch Tank are born and raised in captivity, hatched from eggs. They are a type of deep water North Atlantic shark, very small, docile and not at all aggressive, so it is safe to reach in and handle them. Also in the Touch Tank at this time are about 20 North Atlantic Sea Stars, West Atlantic Common Spider Crabs, Asian Crabs (which have become an invasive species on our East Coast), some Common and Ribbed Mussels, two or three species of clams, two Frilled Sea Anemones, some Common Oysters and lots of little Periwinkles. His class is researching right now what species they will continue to include in the tank. In fact, the grant obtained to purchase the tank includes a stipulation on researching the sustainability of marine life in these tanks in schools located far inland from the sea coast.
Students in Christian’s marine biology class learn about marine husbandry, the care and management of marine organisms and the biodiversity of marine life. They also learn how coral grows, and they investigate the green fluorescent protein genes of the jellyfish that are used in biotechnical research. Christian expects to incorporate a full lab period next year into the course in order to facilitate longer term experiments. A partnership with Hudson Valley Community College provides full use of biotech laboratory equipment.
David Young, President of CDMAS, works with the nonprofit corporation Touch Tank For Kids and helped facilitate obtaining the grant for Berlin’s Touch Tank. These tanks have now been placed in 60 schools throughout the country, but this one is the only one in the Capital District and one of only a few that is inland from the coasts. Berlin, he said, was uniquely eligible for the grant because Christian is on staff and has the expertise to teach the course and properly maintain the tank. He reiterated that a part of the grant is to determine the feasibility of placing these tanks in an inland location. The goal of CDMAS and Touch Tank For Kids, he said, is to educate kids at this age so that they know the need for protecting marine life from pollution and that, “There are things that live there that are part of the life cycle – and they have to be there, or we’re not here.”
Berlin Schools Superintendent Dr. Stephen Young also has a background in marine biology. He sees the Touch Tank as a great opportunity for both high school students and the younger kids. He was pleased to see the older students so obviously enthusiastic about passing on their knowledge to the second-graders. The Touch Tank, he said, was a great asset for the school as is Christian’s marine biology course. He noted that the students had the opportunity last year to go on a field trip to the Long Island Aquarium and earlier this year they also visited the Local Ocean fish farm in Hudson. Christian said the CDMAS has a contact at Local Ocean and he hopes soon to obtain from them a baby flounder for the Touch Tank.
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