Ecological Talk Among Families at Touch Tanks
Touch tanks, which allow visitors to interact with marine organisms in a special enclosure, are popular exhibits at aquariums, zoos, and some science museums. The hands-on, up-close-and-personal features of touch tanks might be especially useful for helping visitors enhance their understanding of ecological science—or the study of relationships among organisms and their environment. Little research has been done, however, on how and what people learn when visiting touch tanks.