Come to the Oak Harbor Library to touch the anemenemenames, I mean the manemones, I mean, gosh, maybe Nemo was right, it is hard to pronounce.

Elementary-aged kids are invited to a Marine Wildlife Touch Tank Adventure from 1-3 p.m. on July 1 at the Oak Harbor Library. In small groups, they will have the opportunity to compare different habitats and to identify and touch sea animals. The touch tanks will feature sea stars, crabs, sea cucumbers, sea urchins and of course, sea anemones. The event is part of the Oak Harbor Library’s summer outreach programming.

“All of our programming in the summer is intently linked to summer reading,” Oak Harbor Library Manager Jane López-Santillana said. “We want to continue excitement about learning.”

The library hopes to provide opportunities for children to discover their unique interests. Staff members are trained to work with kids and encourage their curiosities. The Children’s Services staff enjoy the opportunity to work one-on-one with families, López-Santillana explained.

Mira Lutz, the marine technologist for the marine and coastal science program at Western Washington University, is excited to bring Shannon Point Marine Center’s outreach touch tank to the Oak Harbor Library. She pointed to the Kozloff Family Endowment Fund and Skagit Community Foundation for making the trailer possible.

Lutz will be at the library along with her team, which includes a graduate student and a handful of undergraduate scientists from all over the U.S. She hopes the event will be an educational opportunity for both her students and the kids who come to the event.

Together, her team will guide children in identifying the different species and their unique roles in their habitat.

At Western, Lutz is a boat captain, a certified diver and a marine technologist who trains people to work with different instruments. Before this, she was in science education for 24 years.

Lutz is excited for kids at the Oak Harbor Library to “meet their little neighbors that are right next-door.” Though they are surrounded by water, a lot of these kids don’t get to the beach, she said. Additionally, many military families don’t come from places with access to the sea, so this will give these kids the opportunity to familiarize themselves with marine life, López-Santillana echoed.

The touch tank will provide a very hands-on learning experience.

“You’re hearing, you’re seeing, you’re touching,” López-Santillana said.

Watching experts and students at work can “inspire people, not just the kids, but sometimes the parents into new thoughts about careers, or thoughts about interest or hobbies,” López-Santillana said.

Lutz hopes the touch tank will encourage kids to visit the shore at low tide and to understand that the sea life needs to be protected.

While it’s the library’s first time doing a sea life touch tank, it will bring other kinds of critters this summer, including reptiles and farm animals. Stay in the loop for future kid-friendly events on the Oak Harbor Library’s website.

López-Santillana is pleased to introduce such different life forms to young kids.

“We’re bringing the world to them and that’s a joy,” López-Santillana said.

Children and their families gathered around a Shannon Point Marine Center touch tank event in Bellingham (Photo provided)