classroom tank

[waymack97]

my son has told his teacher all about the tank that we have at home. now his teacher and fellow student all are interested in the hobby. i am thinking of donating a 20 gallon tank and some of my old equipment to his class. i think it would be a great learning experance for his class, has anyone else done this? and how did it work out. i was also thinking of having the teacher and class to join this site so they could learn and ask question to all of you reef experts. do you think this would work.
_________________
pay off debt

 

[Anonymous]

that would be awesome and very generous of you. Only concern I have is who is going to pay for upkeeping? The students can do the maintenance, but it takes only one bad apple to do something stupid like drop a penny in there. There is also bacteria that could cause an infection if some kid had a cut in his hand or something. I'm just babbling here...

What about freshwater?

 

[waymack97]

i know there would be lots of concerns. i was thinking fowlr. i would like to hear both pros and cons.
_________________
debt relief

 

[Anonymous]

for pros, I know Len would be happy for you to introduce many new members and to spark up discussions here. Maybe he'll quit bugging us downside

Seriously, I think it's a great idea. Good way to teach responsibility and respect to nature and living things to the kids. "Those things (corals) are really animals??"

Con: When school is over what will happen to the tank during break?

 

[Nemo2007]

It might be easier to have them start out with a slightly larger tank. For example, a 46 or 55 gallon tank. In my opinion, smaller tanks are more work to maintain, with the smaller water volume being much less forgiving.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

On the more legal side, you can donate the equipment for a nice tax writeoff. I think its a great Idea.

 

[waymack97]

very small classroom with 25 kids has to be small. i am thinking mated pair of clowns and a aneome(sp). still need to talk to the teacher this week.
_________________
Scientology Forum

 

[IslandCrow]

What age are we talking about? My Jr. High science class had a pretty nice salt water tank. No corals, but I seem to remember an anemone or two. The cost of the upkeep is certainly a factor. Hopefully the school would be willing to pick up the tab, but I'd get them to confirm that first. I don't think I'd worry too much about the kids doing anything bad to the tank. Overall, I'd have to say that kids can be far more responsible than many of us give them credit for, especially if they're given "ownership" of the tank.

Anyway, as long as the school can pick up the tab for maintenance, I think it's an excellent idea!