I've always been squeamish around the slippery slimies and the creepy crawlies of the world, so I started volunteering at the aquarium to get over that inconvenient fear. The Seattle Aquarium has a really cool exhibit of indoor touch pools that mimic the tide pools of the Puget Sound and outer coast of Washington. It's built specifically to house resilient animals that are safe for people to gently touch. I'm now totally comfortable around lots of creatures, including sea cucumbers, slimy sponges, sea anemones, crabs, and sea urchins. That last one is actually my favorite to engage guests with; it's just about the most intimidating creature in the tide pools, but that fear dissipates entirely the moment someone gets their first sea urchin hug.
The most amazing part of volunteering is the familiarity I've gained with individual animals. I never thought I'd have a favorite sea urchin, but now I start every shift playing hide-and-seek with my favorite little guy. Well, urchin-guy hides, and I seek. Here's a picture from a particularly sneaky day, where my little friend is tucked away into a little hole hanging onto a bit of kelp. Urchin-guy has been holding onto that piece of kelp for a few weeks now.
Another huge benefit of volunteering every week is seeing the animals through the seasons. I was lucky enough to be there during a major spawning event in Spring 2022. I watched the pools turn cloudy with the anemone and urchin gametes, after the urchins raced toward each other at a break-neck pace. About .05 m/s!
I've even seen chitons, the most sedentary animal in the world, do something interesting: lay eggs. Don't get me wrong, they are incredibly gorgeous, but I was so shocked! I called everyone over to look.
There's always something going on with the slow-moving sea creatures if you have the patience to watch. I've fallen in love with the way sea cucumbers wander and interact with other creatures, wiggling around like giant caterpillars with the most interesting mouth parts. I could watch them graze for hours (and I have).
I strive to share my genuine attachment to these creatures with all the visitors who come by. So please visit, be inspired, and get yourself a little urchin hug!
