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Poland Union aquarium grows in size, popularity
POLAND
Union Elementary’s saltwater aquarium is housed in the school’s library, but interest for the tank extends far beyond the building.
Contributions not only from the Poland community, but from companies and individuals from around the world recently allowed the school to upgrade its original 55-gallon tank to a 120-gallon aquarium fitted with acrylic sheet and featuring a five-chamber water-filtration system.
Principal Michael Masucci, who started the project several months ago, said he is pleasantly surprised by the traction it’s gained.
“There is a saltwater community,” he said he’s learned. “I’ve even had responses from across the ocean.”
A new digital thermometer came from a company in California. Someone in Connecticut sent a $600 lighting fixture to the school. A professional diver from Tampa, Fla., sent samples of coral and sponges collected during a dive in the Gulf of Mexico.
A Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company is set to send the school a $900 control panel that will allow Masucci to control some aspects of the tank directly from his phone. Another company is providing supplies of fish food every month.
Interest for the tank – which is home to fish, hermit crabs, shrimp, snails, starfish, coral and more – is just as strong among Union students and parents, Masucci said. He noted the positive impact it’s had on students with special needs, and on getting fathers more involved at the school.
He believes its popularity is due to its uniqueness.
“I don’t think it’s something you would expect to see when you walk into an elementary-school library,” he said. “Kids are exposed to so many things at home. ... What used to be exciting to kids 15 years ago, now is ordinary. This is something that kids haven’t had the opportunity to be a part of. I think that’s why we’ve had so much early success.”
Currently, the tank is incorporated in many ways into students’ home and classroom lives. A live video feed allows teachers to work aspects of the aquarium into educational activities, and students can access the video feed from personal electronic devices at home.
Masucci has plans for further expansion of the project. Next year, for example, he wants to grow the school’s “Big Dog, Little Dog” program (which connects high-school mentors to elementary students) to include an “Aqua Dogs” program in which mentors work with second-grade students on activities related to the aquarium.
Also next year, the school will host family science nights that relate to the aquarium.
“The sky’s the limit,” Masucci said.