In 1986 Sagar Gupta, a senior at Cabrillo High School, and Dave Long, a staff member, became partners in a project that is now considered to be a model for hands-on learning and partnershipping.
The Cabrillo High School Aquarium combines HANDS-ON LEARNING and PARTNERSHIPPING. These two terms have truly been taken to their highest definition.
Each student that is involved in this program has an opportunity to utilize their textbook knowledge and apply this knowledge in a very practical way. You cannot learn how to use a hammer and nail from a textbook, you must apply those tools to some worthwhile project. A person cannot truly learn about the sea unless they have some working relationship with the sea and its inhabitants. This is the reason so many people have donated their time and effort to this award winning marine laboratory.
The second very important part of this facility is partnershipping. The definition of a partnership is to have a joint interest or an association with two or more members. This concept has been expanded and utilized and is still in the process of developing.
Without the partnerships of students, teachers, custodians, and administrators, this facility would not be possible. The second half of our partnership was to come up with a dream that would benefit not only education but parents, the community and industry as well. Individuals and business in all of these areas have generously helped in the development of this facility.
The Cabrillo High School Aquarium has been recognized by the California School Boards Association Golden Bell Award and the President of the United States' Environmental Youth Award Program.
HEXAGON
The 60 gallon hexagon tank is the home of two warm eels. The snowflake eel is a colorful animal that is about 36 inches long. It loves shell fish--especially shrimp and small lobster. The snowflake's roommate is a zebra eel. It is also about 36 inches in length and is black with white bands running around its body. They share their habitat with tomato clowns and a bi-colored angel fish.
** Some moray eels will reach a length of 6 feet and have a diameter of 6 inches and have large menacing teeth.
WARM WATER REEF -- 375 Gallons
The largest of Cabrillo's reef exhibits was also the first one that was constructed by Sagar Gupta and Dave Long together with the assistance of our first business partnership with a local doctor, Dr. Bernard Weinstock.
This aquarium is a good example of warm water animals and plants. Notice the hard and soft corals that are stationery, unable to move from one place to another. Also, the many small and large anemones have acquired their own territory. It is the home of clown fish, royal gamma, a needle nosed hawk fish and squirrel fish.
The very large biological filter below supplies the aeration and extra bacteria growth to sustain this habitat with its very large bio mass.
COLD WATER REEF -- 375 Gallons
The sister aquarium to the warm water reef is our cold water habitat. This represents the coast line along the central coast of California. The many shallow water ANEMONES, abalone, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and sea stars make u the majority of life. You might also see a LOBSTER sliding in and our of the rocks or a juvenila sheepshead fish. Other inhabitants are opal eye perch, black eyed goby, leaf fish, swell shark and a horn shark.
This display was also designed and fabricated by students and staff at Cabrillo High School.
EXPERIMENTAL TANK
This 100 gallon experimental tank is used by students for a variety of purposes. Students have used this Aquarium to test water quality, using probes and the computer.
The tank was the first in the Aquarium to use a biological filter and protein skimmer specifically for small tanks. The filter bed grows bacteria that eat waste as the water passes over the filter bed. Also, the protein skimmer helps to remove liquid waste from the water that cannot be removed biologically. It is the home of a variety of colorful fish.
POINT PEDERNALES SPLASH TANK
This tank was designed by Dave Long for Shawn Freeman, a past graduate of Cabrillo High School. Shawn completed this unique shallow water beach break to help everyone better understand the importance of wave action for plant and animal growth. The project was an award winner at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's Science Fair and was featured in Fresh Water and Marine Aquarium Magazine -- A nationally recognized aquarium magazine.
ORPHAN TANK
Every aquarium must have a home for orphan fish. The animals were given to use because they were about to loose their home because they did not get along with the other fish in the aquarium they once lived in. Some of the inhabitants are: Huma Huma, Red Bluespotted Grouper, Two Spotted Domino, Sailfin Tang, Angel Fish, and a Bat Fish.
FRESH WATER TANK
This 100 gallon tank is the only fresh water aquarium in our laboratory. It is usually the holding area for feeder fish that fit into the very important food chain.
It is one of the many stations that helps everyone better understand how important it is to keep all lines in the chain of life.
PHYTOPLANKTON
Phytoplankton (The grass of the sea) and small zooplankton (The small animals) that make up the majority of the ocean's diet are duplicated here.
Students grow phytoplankton with artificial light. Brineshrimp eggs are hatched every 24 hours to feed filter feeders and small fry.
Plankton can be any creature as small as the head of a pin or as large as a jelly. They float with the current.
ALGAE SCRUBBER
Algae is one of Cabrillo Aquarium's number one priorities. Without algae our aquarium would not have the success it has enjoyed. Algae is a food source for HERBIVORES and most animals that need to browse and graze for food. Also, algae helps to keep water quality high by using nitrate as a food source.
This simple algae scrubber helps keep water quality high and also helps as a bed for small creatures so they will not be bothered by larger animals. This unit was fabricated and designed by student Greg Reiner and teacher Dave Long.
WHITE SIDED DOLPHIN
Cabrillo's full size white sided bottle nose dolphin once hung in the Monterey Bay Aquarium. But, it became damaged and Dr. Steve Webster, Monterey's Education Director, felt it would be a great project for our students and it was given to us as a gift. It first went to the Lompoc Unified School District ROP auto body program. The students and director reshaped the dolphin and primered it. The dolphin was then returned to Cabrillo where our Art Department under the direction of Dick Fisher repainted it. Aquarium students built the stand. We hope to have more displays like this in the future.
COLD WATER HOLDING TANKS (3)
This unique aquarium has one filter and chilling unit. There are three separate chambers. The display was designed and fabricated by student Dan Brooks. Dan spent two weeks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium working with their aquairists during a summer vacation. Dan's goal was to strobilate jellies in a closed reef system for his science quest project. After his jelly fish project was completed, we continued to use it for research on other marine animals.
The large tank is 80 GALLONS, the MIDDLE 50 GALLONS, and SMALL TANK IS 5 GALLONS. They all run on a central biological filter.
TOUCH TANK
The Cabrillo touch tank gives everyone an opportunity to touch different animals found in the sea.
We attempt to rotate these animals. Some stay in the touch tank for a period of time and then are rotated so as not to stress the animals.
The small tanks are connected by two filters, one chilling unit and one primary pump.
FLAT FISH TANK
The 70 gallon flat fish tank is the home of several Juvenile Flat Fish. When they are first born, their eyes are the same as any other fish -- one on one side and one on the other. But very quickly the fish's body changes. Then both eyes are on top of its body. The top of its body acts as a camouflage from its enemies. It is a strong swimmer.
** Some flat fish such as the PACIFIC ALASKAN HALIBUT will weigh up to 500 pounds.
EASTERN MARINE LOBSTER (Wall display)
The very large Eastern Maine Lobster weighed over 19 pounds and must have been at least 75 to 90 years old. Notice the two different types of pinchers -- one for holding and one for tearing and cutting.
SLIPPER LOBSTER (Wall display)
Notice the difference in shape of the smaller lobster native to Hawaii. They call this crustacean a slipper lobster.
PACIFIC LOBSTER (Wall display)
The small Pacific Lobster could be indigenous to the warmer waters of the pacific. It has no pinchers but it does have very sharp spines and long tentacles.
** All three of these lobsters make very good eating.
WHITE SNOW CRAB (Wall display)
The white snow crab gives us all a good example of how crustaceans come in so many sizes and shapes.
INTERTIDAL TANK
This small intertidal tank is the home of many small animals -- CRABS, SEA STARS, ANEMONES, ETC. This exhibit was built for an elementary student's science project. It was then given to the Cabrillo Aquarium to redesign as a habitat for many of our small intertidal friends.
STUDENTS WORK STATIONS
All of our students have a chance to work in the Cabrillo High School Aquarium cleaning and maintaining the habitats.
VIDEO LIBRARY SPONSORED BY THE AUDUBON SOCIETY
The La Purisima Audubon Society has sponsored our Video Library for several years. Each year they provide us with a new selection of education videos.
MICROSCOPE AND MONITOR
The unit permits us to take microscopic animals out of the filters, put them under the microscope, and view them magnified on the monitor.
MURALS (Along the ceiling)
The mural you see along the ceiling depicts the sea life in our local Santa Barbara Channel. It was done by two Cabrillo Graduates, Jon and Tom Lyra.
The next one will depict the Life of the Chumash Indians. One of our students, Amy Frady, is working on it now.
When all of the murals are completed they will depict the evolution of the Santa Barbara Channel from the time they were inhabited by Indians to the present recreational and industrial development.