KENNEBUNK — As the school years wraps up, students at St. James School in Biddeford had one more assignment to complete over the weekend and for some, it was a lesson they will never forget.

Throughout the school year, St. James science students have been able to study dozens of marine creatures through a “Touch Tank,” a 100-gallon saltwater aquarium filled with 35 species of marine animals and vegetation. Last October, St. James science teacher Emily Valentino teamed up with Carol Steingart of Coast Encounters Maine Intertidal Adventures to populate the “Touch Tank” with various species of marine life found on Middle Beach in Kennebunk.

“We brought back a variety of barnacles, snails, crabs, sea stars, mussels, sea anemones, dog whelks, sea urchins, lobsters, and common periwinkles, along with assorted sea lettuce, Irish moss, sea grasses and dulse,” Valentino said.

Through the use of a specialized license to keep the marine life for educational purposes, Valentino and St. James students maintained the tank daily keeping its salinity and ammonia at proper levels, feeding the sea creatures in it and caring for them all while learning about the microcosm of species that make up an ocean tidal pool. But with students out of school for the summer, the marine creatures were returned Saturday to their natural habitat and new specimens will populate the tank this fall.

Valentino said that this was the first year St. James students undertook a marine project like this.

“I met Carol last summer and she has taught me so much,” Valentino said. “We’ve all grown so attached to these creatures and we’ve named almost all of them, so it’s sad to leave them.”

However, one of the tank inhabitants, a blue-tinted lobster nicknamed “Blue” will be back in the fall as Steingart said he will go to summer camp for lobsters at the Kennebunk Toy Company.

“He’ll be part of an exhibit there called ‘Touch Tank Tuesdays’ and can be visited by students ages 7 and up for free there every Tuesday at 2 p.m.,” she said.

Valentino said the entire experience of keeping marine creatures was worthwhile for students.

“The most important thing that they learned is that all of these creatures are under our feet and how many species live in the tide pools,” she said. “We also are grateful to Maine Ecological Habitat in Biddeford for assisting us with this project.”

Steingart said she believes the “Touch Tank” at St. James School serves a beneficial purpose.

“My intention to create an ecosystem in the classroom fosters a wonderful relationship with the diverse intertidal ecosystem and the students have a better understanding of caring for these creatures,” she said. “They can examine these creatures up close on a daily basis and see nature happening inside the tank. It’s a wonderful gift.”

During the course of the school year, St. James students watched a hermit crab change its shell, crabs becoming pregnant and then showing their eggs and even saw a lobster moulting, or getting rid of its rigid exoskeleton shell.

“It’s basically a living ocean classroom,” Steingart said.

Second-grader Evan Gregoricus helped Valentino and Steingart return the marine life to their natural surroundings Saturday and said he was fascinated watching the creatures return to the tidal pool.

“I liked  it.” he said. “I like finding creatures in the ocean and I have learned a lot today.”

In mid-August, Valentino and Steingart will return to Middle Beach to collect more marine life for next year’s “Touch Tank” at St. James School.

“It’s really gratifying to have our students connect in this way to the world around us,” Valentino said. “They have been witness to the Circle of Life and it’s been amazing. Now we’re closing the loop and sending the creatures back to their home.”

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com