Released May 22, 2009
PINE BLUFF, Ark. - Kindergarteners from James Matthews Elementary School in Dollarway attended a goldfish circus and got to wrap their hands around a variety of fish during a recent tour of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Aquaculture Research Station.
They also visited a hatchery, learned about minnows, took a hayride around the fish ponds and watched fish dance to the water's surface as they were being fed.
But, it was the fish petting zoo that seemed to draw the most attention from one group of 5-and 6-year-olds. They squealed with laughter as they petted fish in a long water-filled trough. There were goldfish, spotted koi, rosy-red minnows and a few tiny crawfish.
"I got one, I got one, I got one!" yelled one boy as he cupped a wiggling, orange-colored minnow in his hands. "Look at that one," said a little girl, pointing to a black and white koi fish in the trough.
At the next stop on the tour, the children heard UAPB Aquaculture Research Station Manager Bauer Duke explain how spawning works and they saw some recently collected catfish eggs.
Duke later explained that the tours help show children and adults that "this is a research station and we conduct research with various types of fish for fish farmers, anglers and environmental managers all around the state. So, we do not simply grow fish to sell to the public."
"We grow fish to find the best way to do it so Arkansas may benefit either by fish farmers making more money or anglers catching more fish or habitats becoming richer and more stable," he said. "We hope that if the tour is fun and interesting, it will peak the interest of students in these areas and they will realize there are many ways to be a part of aquaculture and fisheries."
Duke said that UAPB is the only place in Arkansas where students can get a bachelor's or master's degree in aquaculture and fisheries.
For the young children on the tour, it was also the place to see a goldfish circus. Inside one building, Sathyanand Kumaran, an Extension specialist from UAPB's Lonoke fish diagnostic lab, served as ringmaster. Using a wand dipped in fish food, Kumaran guided Goldie the goldfish through a hoop and under a limbo pole set up in a tank of water.
In a nearby lab, Research Specialist Alexander Kachowski showed off a tank of some of Arkansas's specially-bred, rosy-red fathead minnows. Students also got to see some baby minnows up close after a magnified image was put on a computer screen.
--30--
http://www.uaex.edu/news/may2009/0522uapb_tour.htm
Editor: Bobbie Crockett, (870) 575-8227, crockettb@uapb.edu
