Maritime Aquarium
Maritime Aquarium’s New Horseshoe Crab Culture Lab Combines Research with Exhibit
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The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is inviting guests to follow along as it seeks insights into horseshoe crabs, a favored marine creature whose mystique and environmental importance make up for what it rather lacks in charm. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium
The Maritime Aquarium recently opened its new “Horseshoe Crab Culture Lab,” where staff will investigate the creatures’ physical processes, food preferences, breeding behaviors and more. A lab window lets Aquarium guests check out the work, especially following along as tiny young horseshoe crabs molt their exoskeletons to grow. “I look at this exhibit and I see a perfect marriage of everything that the Maritime Aquarium does well: from our exhibits to our education programs to our conservation work in the field,” said Aquarium President Jason Patlis. The lab was created thanks to a gift from Richard and Kim Alexander of Rowayton and their family’s Ballard Foundation.