touch tanks
Hands-on marine exhibits
Touch tanks are shallow aquarium pools at zoos, aquariums, and nature centers where visitors can reach in and handle marine creatures—typically starfish, sea urchins, hermit crabs, and small rays.
They're designed for hands-on education, letting children and adults feel textures and observe behavior up close: The kids spent an hour at the touch tank petting the stingrays.
- aquariumTank for keeping fish
- starfishFive-armed marine invertebrate
- sea urchinSpiny marine echinoderm
- anemoneTentacled polyp or bloom
- sea creaturesAnimals inhabiting oceans
tide pool · petting · petting zoo · children · field trip · docent · saltwater · horseshoe crab · slimy · tentacles · shells · gentle · little fingers · hands · wash your hands · wet · marine · educational
- aquariumsaquarium, aquariums, tide pools, exhibits, interactive exhibits
- Children's Museumplay areas, water tables, building blocks, puppet theater, art studio
- zoo activitiesgiraffe feeding, guided tours, zoo tour, guided tour, penguin parade
- zoo featuresenclosures, animals, aviary, cages, aquarium
- marine educationmarine biology, marine science, oceanography, marine conservation, field trips
- museum exhibitsscience exhibit, dinosaur skeleton, interactive exhibit, art displays, fossil exhibit