Great Stuff in the Tank!

I stopped by the touch tank today with my 3-year old daughter, who never gets tired of it even though she visits all the time! There are lots of critters in there now, including a few different crab species, a sea scallop, a small sea urchin and a variety of algae. We'll be open again next weekend - stop by and check it out!

Success! The tank made it to the dock!

With help from several of our staffers and some brave, dedicated volunteers, we successfully moved the heavy, bulky tank back to the Isles of Shoals Steamship Co. dock, where it will remain for the summer season. The sea stars, crabs and periwinkles all seem happy with their new location, and all of us at Blue Ocean Society are glad the daunting task has been completed!
Jim Mills of ReMax generously donated his moving truck - we have the United Way of the Greater Seacoast to thank for connecting us to him. The Portsmouth Herald also reached out and gave us some great coverage - check out the story and photo here.
Once we had unloaded the tank onto the dock, the staff/volunteer team found an amazing specimen in the river - a jellyfish! Jason scooped it up in a sandy bin, and we shot a photo before returning it to the water. (As cool as it was to see, I don't think the jellyfish would be too happy in our tank - nor would the visitors reaching in!)
I'd like to thank BOS staff and interns Jen Kennedy, Dianna Schulte, Patty Adell, Kris Piper and Jason Spinney and volunteer Andrew Wallace for all their hard work. Now we can open the tank to the public this weekend - come see us on May 23, 24 or 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.!

Katherine

It's almost time...

We're almost ready to open the touch tank for the 2009 season! Soon the tank and all its inhabitants will be moved to the dock at 315 Market Street, and on Saturday, May 23, we'll be open for the first time. Until then, we have lots to do: collect new sand, rocks and creatures to add to the tank, gather materials for games and activities, and create fun educational materials for you to use on your visit. So come and see us on weekends until June 20, when we'll be open every day.
Would you like to volunteer at the tank? Or are you interested in an internship? We're looking for both this summer! Contact us for more information and become an active member of our mission of education, research and conservation. We'd love to have you!
If you came to the tank last year and have suggestions for how to make it better this season, by all means, let us know! This is a great place to give us your feedback - simply comment on this blog post and help us make the tank better.
Thank you, and we can't wait to see you!
Katherine

Whew! A Successful Winter

The touch tank made it through its first winter season in the carriage barn at our office at the Gov. Langdon House in Portsmouth. We had one sketchy weekend of very cold weather and almost thought we'd have to shut the tank down, but everything made it through and we are excited the warmer weather is here again! Interestingly, our sea star population has been thriving and many of the tiny sea stars that were in the tank at the beginning of the season have grown even larger!

I'm happy to report that our Touch Tank Coordinator, Katherine Lanzer, will be returning again this summer. She's been busy this spring making plans for the touch tank and we'll have a lot going on again this summer. We look forward to seeing our "regulars" and making new friends this spring and summer!

We'll be open for spring hours on Memorial Day weekend (May 23-24), 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with our official 2009 grand opening on Saturday, June 20. Any questions, e-mail us or give us a call at 603-431-0260. See you soon!