Maritime Program Teaches Students

About Animal Senses And Environments

By Tanjua Damon

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s education outreach was brought to Middle Gate School this week so first graders could learn about the senses through animals. The program, sponsored by Dow Chemical, was free to the school.

Megan Hughes introduced the first graders to clams, sea stars, spider crabs, hermit crabs, and a horseshoe crab. She explained to the students that all animals have senses such as sight, hearing, touch, smell, and tasting just like humans do. Middle Gate’s science lab has many animals in it so the students provided much information to the questions Ms Hughes asked them.

“They sense their world a little bit different than we do,” Ms Hughes said. “In some cases a lot different.”

The students learned that a sea star is not really a fish. They also learned that the orange dot in the middle on the animal is used to draw in water like a straw so the suction cups on its arms function. It has five eyes, one at the end of each arm. If a sea star looses an arm, it can grow it back.

Ms Hughes told the students to look up at the light and close their eyes. She then asked them to move their hands in front of their eyes to demonstrate that sea stars only see shadows and shapes.

The first graders learned that calms are a sea stars favorite food and that is one reason they stay close to the shore.

Spider crabs have eight legs and two pinchers. They algae on their bodies is used for two purposes — to hide and to eat. Ms Hughes told the students that it is not unusual to see the crab pick off things to eat from its back.

Hermit crabs are born without shells. They have a soft back so they look for abandoned shells from other animals like snails. They also hide under rocks for protection against predators.

“Their eyes are long and sit on top of a stem like a flower,” Ms Hughes said. “They can stay inside a shell and just look out to see if it is safe.”

A horseshoe crab looks like a horse’s hoof. The students learned that the tail of a horseshoe crab is used for it to move and turn itself over. It is not dangerous, but if broken off can be dangerous for the crab itself. It has two eyes on the top of its shell and covered by the shell, but the crab can still see through it. The students learned that the crab has compound eyes.

Ms Hughes had some students experience what it is like for a fish to see. She had one student be blindfolded and four others hold onto a string and move the string. The student had to say if the movement was coming from the left or the right. Ms Hughes told the students that water animals cannot always see because of the conditions of their environments so they have to feel with their bodies if there is an obstacle in the way.

The Maritime Aquarium is located in Norwalk and offers several educational outreach programs to schools throughout Connecticut.