How an Aquarium Will Make Kids Smarter
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First a teaching aquarium in the classroom energizes learning, it prods learners to get involved because the tank is not an inanimate object it is a living, breathing organism, full of fellow creatures who just by their very existence teach learners about life in an ecosystem covered by water. It is easy to engage a human being in caring about the welfare of their fellow creatures, their life cycles, what they eat, how they protect themselves and even how they pass away. All of this will engage learners in a real way that a computer or online game can only dream of. Once you have observed the “life under the sea”, you are invested in its well-being and it’s ultimate successful survival.
Math and The Aquarium
The educational aquarium is also good for teaching math skills. From the little
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learners who are just learning how to count. to the older learners who are learning about algebra, geometry or physics, all can be accommodated and engaged by using an educational aquarium. Lessons to learn simple math can be devised to count the “creatures” in the tank, or to group them together into similar groups, or to add and subtract them from the tank, or to learn the percentages of the population of your tank, from what percentage of the total population consists of sea stars. The applications are as limitless as the imaginations of our brightest educators. As for older learners, you can determine how much water is best for the tank, the percentage of salt in the water, the life span of certain sea creatures, how they function outside and inside. How to measure angles and recognize geometric shapes in nature. All of this can be developed by using an educational aquarium in the classroom to enhance and teach math skills.
Social Studies and The Educational Aquarium
There are an unlimited number of ways that the aquarium used in an educational setting can help inspire learning social studies. You can have learners research public policies and laws which have impacted not only the health of the oceans but the health and well-being of the many fish and creatures that are harvested from our oceans every year. Students can easily understand the positive and negative aspects of a public policy as it applies to the under water world that is a part of their educational experience every day of their learning. They can look back at historical figures and connect many of them to the oceans and the activities on or around them. From fishing to trade. You can also relate the treatment of the oceans animals by the governments around the world today. Policies are made that will have a direct impact on the ocean world that learners will become an interactive part of. There are so many different types of lessons that having a tank available for the education of kids, it would be a resource without end.
An Educational Aquarium is For Your School
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Having an educational aquarium in the classroom would be a benefit to all curriculum’s and all ages of learners. There is no way that we can limit the use of such a valuable educational tool to just one of the classes that learners encounter in school when it teaches so much about everything. Once you start to investigate the true value of having an aquarium in the classroom, and see all of the applications that it has, you will be looking to add one to your school system as quickly as you can, because the increased enthusiasm for learning and desire to find out more about math, science, history or foreign languages will be mind-blowing.
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There are many things that should be considered before setting up a marine aquarium, and there are countless resources that should be studied before taking on the challenge. Three important things to consider before undertaking this rewarding endeavor are the size of the tank, the type of filtration system, and what lighting components will work best for the chosen aquarium location.
Aquarium tanks are made from two different materials acrylic and glass. Acrylic is more durable than glass, has a higher
Rh factor that will reduce sweating, and if acrylic is scratched, the damage can be easily buffed out. When setting up an aquarium, you should select the largest system possible because the larger the tank, the easier it is to maintain. Larger marine aquariums produce a more stable environment and provide more flexibility for stocking and decorating.
Filters are characterized by type and how they work, and all filters are designed to remove waste and generate oxygen. There are many different filters for marine aquariums and choosing the right filtration system comes down to time, money, and desired or required cleanliness.
Unless you have an “open” aquarium with a continuous flow of clean salt water, biological filtration is a must. Waste and uneaten food are toxic to your fish and invertebrates, and unless the contamination is converted to harmless bacteria or filtered out with some type of biological filtration, the inhabitants in your tank will die.
The simplest bio-filters include air-driven boxes or foam filters, these filters work fine for quarantine tanks with limited stock. Under gravel filters are time-tested filters that are powered by air. They draw or push the aquariums water through the substrate and trap particles, accelerating the natural biological filtration process. They are not a necessity for a clean marine aquarium, but will reduce time and produce a healthier aquarium.
Power filters come in several models that can be placed inside or outside of an aquarium. Some power filters hang on the 
back or are placed under the tank. They come pressurized or unpressurized in either wet or dry canisters. Outside power filters are preferred to inside the tank filters as they minimize time and frustration when cleaning. The best models are quiet, energy-efficient and easy to use.
Lighting
Aquarium lighting can be very important for keeping an aquarium in homeostasis, and quality lighting will allow the hobbyist to get the most enjoyment from their aquarium. Photo- quality, strength and duration should be understood and properly controlled, and if the lighting is properly installed, the aquarium will run at its optimum performance. Many aquarium systems are sold with quality lighting, but most aquariums are not equipped with a good assortment of hoods, fixtures, lamps and conversion kits.
Most aquariums need artificial lighting for maximum enjoyment and optimum livestock health. While setting up an aquarium, the important things to remember are to keep water separate from electrical components and ensure the proper venting of waste heat so it doesn’t overheat your system.
Marine aquariums provide enjoyment for many people all over the world. Aquariums, like people, come in all shapes and sizes, and if you do a little research to ensure that the right aquarium is selected, the benefits of owning a well-maintained marine aquarium will be enjoyed for many years to come.
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Trade Show Displays Must Be visible and interesting enough to get 
people to take a closer look at your products and engaging enough to motivate visitors to start conversations and seek more information. If your trade show displays do not meet your expectations, consider adding a touch tank to your presentation. This will draw prospects to your trade show booth like bears to honey and spark interesting conversation so that more visitors will come to appreciate the benefits of your business.
Actively engage trade show display visitors.
Keep busy cleaning and tinkering with your display. When visitors approach your booth, give them a warm welcome, invite them to look around, and tell them, “if they have any question I will be right over here.” (NOTE: continue to clean and tinker) This, combined with warm and open body language, will relax visitors and inspire them to ask buying questions. Be prepared to offer specific solutions to their questions. The trick is to draw them in without intimidating or overwhelming them.
Pull a crowd to your trade show touch tank display.
Use the interactive trade show touch tank displays to ignite interest and allow people to cluster around your trade show booth, activity brings more activity-TRUST ME . At a gardening trade show, I once saw over 50 people 
crowding around a booth as the exhibitor demonstrate how their organic products do not pose the significant threat to the animals of the touch tank that non organic gardening products do. This was the company’s most successful trade show and after the event, this environmentally responsible business experienced a tremendous increase in online traffic and business.
Trade show touch tanks create more business because they encourage more people to stop by your trade show booth. When more people see your products, you will generate more revenue. Touch-Tank highly recommends Marine Ecological Habitats mobile touch tanks because of their superior quality that prevents problems. The Biddeford, Maine Company offers several touch tank designs that will improve the effectiveness of you trade show display.
If your company is interested in adding a touch tank display to a trade show 
presentation, but is uncomfortable transporting or caring for the animals of the touch tank, you might want to consider a relationship with Touch Tanks For Kids, a 501 c 3 nonprofit whose mission includes improving science education and motivating more people to take action that protect our Oceans. Touch Tanks for Kids considers trade show touch tank display partnerships with environmentally conscious businesses that support theTouch Tanks For Kids program. Email Touch Tanks For Kids now at info@touchtanksforkids.org for more information.
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Dr. Touch Tanks’ Ocean Guide supplies teachers with a versatile teaching resource that supports aquarium education. The simple sea creature illustrations, designed by Justine Lavigne an advanced math teacher in Maine, work well for many purposes. The drawings found in Dr. Touch Tanks’ Ocean Guide provide students with a memorable representation of eight sea-creatures that may be labeled, colored, studied and improved allowing for creativity and learning.
Students learn a vast amount of information when they observe the behaviors and actions of an Eco-system that they are actually reading about in textbooks. Touch-Tank hopes that you find Dr. Touch Tanks’ Ocean Guide useful
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On April 25, 2010 Touch-Tank contributors had the pleasure of attending the Connecticut Area Reef Society (CTARS) conference held at Mohegan Sun Casino and we are impressed with the clubs commitment to “responsible husbandry” as signified by CTARS’ mission statement.
CTARS is to provide a reason (excuse for some) for people in Connecticut and surrounding areas, with the common interest of reef keeping, to get together and share knowledge and experience of this hobby. This knowledge and experience will promote responsible husbandry through proper tank set-up, maintenance and appropriate stocking of our reef tanks, and passing along captive cultured corals through trades.
Mike Martin, Dave Young and Matthew Chrishan,Touch Tanks for Kids volunteers helped develop a touch tank rental program that has greatly improved the outreach capabilities of the Dr. Touch Tanks Tour. Book a touch tank rental today! Limited Availability
Touch Tanks for Kids is now calling on all aquarium enthusiasts to help Touch Tanks for Kids, an all-volunteer nonprofit origination dedicated to Ocean Literacy, fulfill its mission by learning how you can help bring Touch Tanks for Kids incredible aquatic programs to your area.
Touch-Tank was impressed with CTARS organizational abilities and has agreed to help Matt, Dave and Mike develop the TTFK Discussion Forum, (JOIN NOW)
Touch-Tank asks you to PLEASE HELP Berlin High School of Berlin, New 
York raising the necessary funds to bring a permanent North Atlantic cold-water touch tank to Berlin’s high schools students. (DONATE NOW)
This site is created and maintained by Shannon Mae Development, Inc.
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Touch Tank
- Tips on Using Educational Aquariums In The ClassroomHow an Aquarium Will Make Kids Smarter First a teaching aquarium in the classroom energizes learning, it prods learners to get involved because the tank is not an inanimate object it is a living, breathing organism, full of fellow creatures who just by their very existence teach learners about life in an ecosystem covered by […]
- How To Set up a Marine AquariumThere are many things that should be considered before setting up a marine aquarium, and there are countless resources that should be studied before taking on the challenge. Three important things to consider before undertaking this rewarding endeavor are the size of the tank, the type of filtration system, and what lighting components will work […]
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- Trade Show Touch TankIf your trade show displays do not meet your expectations, consider adding a touch tank.This will draw prospects to your trade show booth like bears to honey […]
- Dr. Touch Tanks Ocean GuideDr. Touch Tanks Ocean Guide supplies teachers with a versatile teaching resource that supports aquarium education. The simple sea creature illustrations, ... […]
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