Last summer, our HMSC Archivist Extraordinaire, PROMISE Intern Sarah Borycki, spent countless hours bravely digging through the OSU and Guin Library Archives for HMSC treasures. I got to enjoy the gems she uncovered as she sorted through the mundane, the controversial, and the amusing. This week’s series started with a caption that was amusing to us, but probably not for those who had to fish the kids out of the touch pool. Enjoy!
Photo # 137
Caption #137
Photo #70a
March 20 update – Ken Yates shared these memories of the touch tank’s evolution:
137 – yes, this is the older photo. Also, there must have been underwater lights during this iteration of the touch tank – because after the bottom was raised, and semi-porous tile was installed on the outer wall, there was a tingling electrical current when I made the connection by putting my hand in the water and having my bare knee on the wet tile. A breaker or switch had been turned on by accident, sending current to the old lights that were buried underneath the new bottom.
70a – yes, this is the newer photo, before the tile was installed, but after the oak label frames were put up on the wall, and the new graphics (think there was a transparency applied to white plexi) were made – we had multiple species labels that we could put in the slots when the animals were in the tank, and pull when they were not.
70b (below) – this was the concrete octo tank before astroturf was installed on the top surface and inside vertical surface to discourage the animal from taking excursions on the dry side – octo’s suckers cannot grip the astroturf, so it is hard to pull them selves out. This circular concrete tank was eventually replaced by a oval FRP tank that had side viewing windows, vertical oak paneling on the side (a Lavern Weber touch), and an FRP top cap that had pre-moulded indented surfaces on the top and the inside vertical surfaces to make it easier to glue the astro turf. Also, when the old concrete tank was removed to make room for the new one, it popped off of the floor all in one piece – must have been just mortared in palce – and someone, not sure who, took it home for a hot tub.
Photo #70b
For those who haven’t been here in awhile, here are our current octopus and touch tanks (both photos taken several years ago):
P504
Photo #505
If you have information about these photographs, please share! Click here to submit your information, or email maryann.bozza@oregonstate. edu. Please reference the photo number. You can also leave a comment, below.
Check back often for the Photo of the Week and news about HMSC’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. To add your name to the mailing list, email maryann.bozza@ oregonstate.edu or sign up here.
