New addition to Touch Tank!

Hey everyone!

My names Sam and I'm an intern who will be blogging about the touch tank this summer! We received an exciting new addition to the touch tank today, a lobster! He was found in a lobster pot right off the Isles of Shoals dock and was given to the touch tank. We also fed mussels to the crabs and made marine themed hats and visors. There will be plenty of arts and crafts tomorrow so come check out the tank!! We're open 11-4

Our first day of story time at the Sea Life Discovery Center

Steve Johnson is reading to some of our story time visitors today, Lyla Kendrick from Westboro, Ma and Alex Yablin from Newburyport! The enjoyed 2 books and an original "Steve Johnson" tale as well. Alex had see us at the Newburyport Public Library yesterday and wanted a private preview today, Lyla had many questions and after spending some time with her we found out she LOVES crabs, her mom says she loves anything that moves! Our summer inter Michelle is giving Alex and Lyla some education about our tank. Come and join us for story time every Wednesday from 11-11:30 and stay for the feeding session at 1:00, thank you to all who visited today and your generosity we appreciate it.....see you soon.

Theres much to see!

Such a beautiful day for a trip to our Discovery Center. With such a busy weekend to start our season we're just having the time to post our pictures. There's just so much to see and do that we wouldn't even be able to cover it all in a single blog. We look forward to seeing new and old visitors to our Discovery Center!

Hats are a hit!

For today's craft at the Portsmouth tank, kids colored visors using ocean animal stencils and colored markers. They loved it! On a hot and sunny day, the visors were a perfect way to keep away the glare - and to look fabulously fashionable! Alison models one for us here. We will have more new and interesting crafts this week at the touch tank - be sure to come check them out!

Salisbury Sea Life Discovery Center: Opening Weekend And The Week To Come

Opening weekend was such a great success. Thank you to everyone and anyone who made donations or purchased anything while visiting us. It's because of generous donations and support from the public that we are able to keep our Discovery Center open to the public.

As for the week to come....

• Wednesday is our Beach Cleanup day followed by story time with our intern Erin in our Kids Corner.
  
• More critters have been added to our already amazingly well stocked touch tank.
• Come by and see plenty of Seastars along with some of their cousins, Brittle Stars and Sea Urchins.
  
• With just about half a dozen species of Crabs there's still no chance of being bitten(no promises about being pinched though).

There's just a huge variety of life to be found along our coast, so come on in and see what else we have.

Come to Salisbury Beach, enjoy the day and make sure you come in and see what amazing treasures we have. We look forward to turning our amazing opening weekend into an amazing summer season.

A great beginning!

Saturday kicked off our season at the Portsmouth touch tank with a bang - we had lots of visitors check out our critters and crafts! Here are some images of the big day. Make sure to come join the excitement this week - we're open from 11 to 4 on weekdays and 10 to 4 on the weekend!

Sea Life Discovery Center opens with hundreds visiting

Saturday June 26th was our opening day at our "Sea Life Discovery Center" on Salisbury Beach. It was a very successful opening day! Our new state of the art touch was running and full of interesting critters and sea weeds for visitors to learn about. Our summer intern Heather had our enviroscape going under a tent to explain to folks the effects of run off and chemicals that end up in our oceans. Many people were interested in our real bones and baleen which everyone can touch and learn more about. Our walls area adorned with fantastic artwork from past and present interns, you feel like you are under water!! Our marine debris table is teaching folks about the dangers of debris in the ocean and on our beaches. We had our inflatable whale inside the "Blue Ocean Music Hall" whale sounds were being played on there sound system which really made you feel you were among the whales. Our intern Erin made some great art and crafts with all our visitors making mobiles and mini aquarium's! Jason our touch tank educator was VERY busy talking constantly to visitors about our new friends in the tank. Thank you to all of our visitors and your support and your great questions and your encouraging support of the Blue Ocean Society's mission. We are open for the summer Wednesday-Sunday 10-3. Wednesday is beach clean-up day with story time from 11-11:30, stop in to see us!

The big weekend approaches...

This Saturday is our first day of open hours! From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., we'll be introducing our creatures to our visitors, as well as playing games, eating some snacks and doing some fun crafts. At noon will be our first story time of the season, so you can get a taste of what will happen every Tuesday. We'll also be boarding the M/V Thomas Laighton at 1:55 with some animals and crafts, plus holding a 50-50 raffle. Don't miss it!
This kicks off our regular schedule for the summer: 11 to 4 Tuesday through Friday, and 10 to 4 on weekends.
If you have any questions about the tank or the day's activities, email katherine@blueoceansociety.org. See you Saturday!

Opening soon - in a new location!

New season, new location – we’ve moved!
In an exciting venture, the touch tank has been placed near the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company’s gift shop and ticket booth. For the past several years, the touch tank has been situated in its own area on the dock, far to the right of all the action; now, the touch tank is central to where passengers of the M/V Thomas Laighton will be boarding and where others enjoy the use of the public picnic tables.
This new location for our animals, crafts and information will offer boat passengers a chance to check us out before or after the tour of the Isles of Shoals; it will also be a fantastic spot for those who drive in or walk from downtown to see us. The touch tank and craft table will be under the canopy and right on the water – a perfect place to cool down on a hot day, participate in some fun activities and learn about our local marine environment.
Starting on opening day, Saturday, June 26th, we will be offering new and exciting crafts for kids to try, and our “Creature Features” will give visitors a new animal to learn about each week. Story times will be held every Tuesday at noon – bring your lunch and hear a new story each week about the inhabitants of our oceans!
The tank’s family of tidepool creatures is growing by the minute: Green crabs, sea stars, mussels and anemones have already moved in. A moon snail and a hermit crab – two of last year’s favorites – are our newest additions, and more will come as the weeks progress toward opening day. If you’d like to see the creatures before June 26th, email katherine@blueoceansociety.org to set up an appointment.
In addition to our new location, we will also have new hours this summer. The touch tank will be open Tuesday through Friday, 11 to 4, and Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 4, all starting on Saturday the 26th. Make sure to mark your calendar!
Our thanks go out to the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company for their help in making this year’s touch tank location a great one and for once again donating the space. Thanks to all our volunteers and interns who bring their warmth and knowledge to the touch tank. And thanks to all of you for making the touch tank possible! See you this summer!