Greetings from Lough Hyne!
Today we had some fellow Americans joining us at the Lough: the Chicago Boys Club! There were twelve of them altogether, and they were travelling around Ireland for a total of ten days, Lough Hyne being one of the destinations they were stopping at. From the surface, Lough Hyne is gorgeous. Its water is a clear mirror, and the rolling green hills and rocky shore only add to the breathtaking beauty. However, this is only the half of it. Underneath the water is a whole other world. To give the visitors a glimpse at the marine life without throwing them in wet suits and snorkel gear into the 16 degrees Celsius water, we instead provided several touch tank exhibits. Earlier that morning, Rob and Luke (Univ. College Cork) dove down to bring up a small collection of the common marine organisms residing in the Lough. The animals were put into several small tanks, and the visitors were welcomed to come learn about the organisms. At first, they were hesitant to touch the animals. The spines from the urchin, Echinus, were slightly off-putting to the guests: many thought that the spines would stab them! However, after Rob explained the harmlessness of the animals, curiosity overrode fear and soon enough pretty much everyone had their hands reaching into the tanks. The most popular display was at John’s station. He would pull out the spiny sea star, Marthasterias, in one hand and in the other he would take out the common scallop, Pecten. He would slowly descend the starfish onto the scallops shell until the starfish’s arms began to wrap into the opening of the scallop. He would drop it into the water and the fun began! The scallop began flapping open and close and bouncing around the touch tank! Everyone shrieked and giggled, taking pictures and beckoning their friends over to watch. Overall, the touch tanks were a success and everyone had a positive experience appreciating the animals that live under the water.
Kailee Clinton
Today we had some fellow Americans joining us at the Lough: the Chicago Boys Club! There were twelve of them altogether, and they were travelling around Ireland for a total of ten days, Lough Hyne being one of the destinations they were stopping at. From the surface, Lough Hyne is gorgeous. Its water is a clear mirror, and the rolling green hills and rocky shore only add to the breathtaking beauty. However, this is only the half of it. Underneath the water is a whole other world. To give the visitors a glimpse at the marine life without throwing them in wet suits and snorkel gear into the 16 degrees Celsius water, we instead provided several touch tank exhibits. Earlier that morning, Rob and Luke (Univ. College Cork) dove down to bring up a small collection of the common marine organisms residing in the Lough. The animals were put into several small tanks, and the visitors were welcomed to come learn about the organisms. At first, they were hesitant to touch the animals. The spines from the urchin, Echinus, were slightly off-putting to the guests: many thought that the spines would stab them! However, after Rob explained the harmlessness of the animals, curiosity overrode fear and soon enough pretty much everyone had their hands reaching into the tanks. The most popular display was at John’s station. He would pull out the spiny sea star, Marthasterias, in one hand and in the other he would take out the common scallop, Pecten. He would slowly descend the starfish onto the scallops shell until the starfish’s arms began to wrap into the opening of the scallop. He would drop it into the water and the fun began! The scallop began flapping open and close and bouncing around the touch tank! Everyone shrieked and giggled, taking pictures and beckoning their friends over to watch. Overall, the touch tanks were a success and everyone had a positive experience appreciating the animals that live under the water.
Kailee Clinton