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Touch Tank

Help Us Bring Back An Educational Touch Tank to Our Community

We Have $10,000 In Matching Funds From Downeast Properties! 

Donations Thus Far: $9,105* … that means $18,210 with the match.

*Includes donations from all sources

We’ve launched a matching-donation campaign with Blue Hill real estate company Downeast Properties to raise funds to bring an educational touch tank back to the Shaw Institute. Jeff and Tina Allen, owners of Downeast Properties, will match donations up to $10,000 to support a new touch tank and develop a curriculum for outreach and education. As you might recall, we previously had a touch tank and it was an amazing community resource. We’d like to restore that as a true asset for area youth, for many reasons: 

Why A Touch Tank?
  • Provide an incredibly unique opportunity to both see and hold an array of local and amazing creatures.
  • Allow us to create important educational materials to teach people of all ages about conservation of our oceans.
  • Enhance the ability for individuals to better connect with the ocean through hands-on, direct engagement.
  • Have been demonstrated to change the perception of our oceans and have enhanced the ability to learn more about them.
  • Allow for a more inclusive and accessible learning environment.

Click below to donate now, being sure to select “Touch Tank” in the dropdown menu on PayPal:

DONATE NOW
“I have so many memories as a kid interacting with touch tanks. The ability to be able to see something close up and even hold it, when in reality it might exist far below the surface of the ocean, is a life changing experience.”

Dr. Charlie Rolsky
Executive Director & Senior Research Scientist

Below are some photos of touch tanks enjoyed elsewhere. Ours will have its own unique look, but these photos will give you an idea of what we can bring to the Shaw Institute and the greater Blue Hill Peninsula community. First image courtesy of Seacoast Science Center in Rye, NH.