A few scaly friends have taken up residence inside Piner Middle School, much to the delight of students, after science lead teacher Devin Turk introduced turtles and fish into two new aquariums recently to provide an innovative way to illustrate biological systems.

“State standards all have life sciences in all three grade levels in middle school,” Turk said. “Sixth, seventh and eighth grade classes will come into the classroom and observe the tanks in action to see how the plants and animals add into an interconnected life support system.”

Turk received funding for the aquarium through a Circle of Success grant from the Sherman Education Foundation. After spending much of the fall planning and having the materials delivered in January, the new aquariums are now running, one for red-eared slider turtles and one for tropical freshwater fish.

“I partnered with the PetSmart here in Sherman, and the managers have been a great help in getting the project started,” Turk said. “They consulted me on particular brands and manufacturers and pointed me to the right species of fish to put together.”

Turk is no stranger to caring for an in-class aquarium. At a previous district, he inherited an aquarium and its animals from a previous teacher who hadn’t incorporated it into their curriculum. Under Turk, that changed, and when he moved, he was able to take the animals, one turtle and a small school of fish, with him. Those same animals are now living large inside Piner.

“We used it to demonstrate the nitrogen and carbon cycles,” Turk said. “It helped show the nature of autotrophs versus heterotrophs and the different adaptations of organisms.”

A few students are so excited about the aquariums they’ve volunteered to help take care of the animals. Some have also helped with the smaller details of constructing the aquarium such as installing photographic backdrops or cleaning the glass.

“Students with experience caring for animals have really been more involved, and some others have observed and asked questions,” Turk said. “I have one student who said he would love to help take care of the turtles because he has his own turtles at home.”

8th grader Kiera Chavez watched the construction process of the 125-gallon aquariums, and she’s looking forward to the lessons involving them.

“We’re learning about life cycles right now, so it ties in. It’s also way cooler to see this in real life than watching it in a video,” she said.“This makes the classroom really pretty, too.”

The new aquarium provides opportunities for more engaging lessons that bring hands-on experience to students. Like in his previous district, Turk wants students to make their own observations and apply the knowledge he and other educators teach them.

“Some students have never seen a classroom aquarium, and it will make lessons very applicable,” Turk said. “Instead of showing a video and taking notes, the students can actually take their own observations and make conclusions based on the data they’re recording in real time.”