PORTSMOUTH – If you like animals, children and the Seacoast environment, you can make a difference at a local nonprofit organization!

Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation is seeking volunteers to help educate visitors at its marine touch tank, located outside on the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company dock at 315 Market St. The tank is open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and it is free and open to the public.

Educators teach children and adults about the intertidal animals that inhabit the Gulf of Maine. Some of the featured animals currently residing in the tank include a giant moon snail, a huge Atlantic hermit crab, and several sea scallops. Visitors can also see, touch and hold sea stars, sand dollars, green crabs, rock crabs, periwinkles, whelks, mussels and more. Educators guide children to gently touch or hold the live marine life, helping to foster positive relationships between children and our local marine environment. Educators need not be experts; qualified volunteers must be enthusiastic, reliable, responsible and willing to learn. A weekly time commitment is appreciated, but not necessary; any time you can give is welcome.

Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation is a Portsmouth-based nonprofit organization whose goal is to inspire people to make good choices on behalf of the marine environment by organizing local beach cleanups, studying whales, and offering hands-on educational programs. For more information about Blue Ocean Society, the touch tank or volunteering, call (603) 431-0260, e-mail katherine@blueoceansociety.org or visit www.blueoceansociety.org.