North Carolina Aquarium's New Turtlemobile

By Claire Aubel

Atlantic Beach, NC - Sea turtles from the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores can now travel at 55 miles per hour without even moving a flipper. A new, custom-designed Outreach vehicle makes it possible for the Aquarium to hit the road in style, with more live animals and educational tools than ever.

The Aquarium unveils the new truck, adorned with photos of sea turtles, hermit crabs and fishes, this Friday at the North Carolina Seafood Festival.

Aquarium Outreach takes hands-on educational programs on the road to schools, groups and special events. Programs include a live animal presentation or a laboratory encounter.

The 22-foot-long truck, sponsored by Kurtis Chevrolet of Morehead City, extends the reach of the Outreach programs. Prior to having the truck, Outreach was limited by the use of smaller Aquarium vehicles that lack animal life support systems and space.

"With rising fuel costs, fewer school groups are able to come to the Aquarium for a field trip,” said Aquarium Outreach Coordinator Laurie Streble. “This new truck meets our animal transport and storage needs, so we can travel farther away and stay for longer amounts of time."

A typical truckload is anything but typical. Streble’s packing list regularly includes a live sea turtle, alligator, fresh water turtles, several snakes, frogs and a variety of marine invertebrates, in addition to costumes, bones, shells, inflatable educational props, and a traveling touch tank. Karen and Jay Johnson sponsored the portable touch tank in honor of their grandchildren.

Since you can’t just buckle a seatbelt on a sea turtle, the new truck is specially designed to keep animal holding containers secure and to provide constant temperature and humidity control.

Outreach programs are available for a modest fee and are suitable for all ages. Custom programs can be designed to meet the needs of any group or class.

For details on Aquarium Outreach programs, visit www.ncaquariums.com or call 252-247-4003.

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores  252-247-4003 ? www.ncaquariums.com
PO Box 580 Milepost 7 Atlantic Beach, NC 28512