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more: touch room ocean

Naturalists at Nixon County Park designed the displays and games, blue lights, and fabric "waves" add to the feeling of being underwater. There is also a reading corner (with cushions a mermaid would love), a puppet show and a dress-up treasure chest. I contributed the blue whale, the small cartoons of sea animals drawing attention to the fact sheets (watercolor and Prismacolor line on vellum bristol paper; that's a smooth, eggshell-like finish, good for detail. Park naturalists laminated the cartoons for durability). My cousin contributed his surfboard (gathering dust). I discovered I am definitely a kayaker, not a surfer, so I spray painted it black and we added some graphics (including my cartoon orca) to illustrate the size of real orcas: the surfboard is about the size of a male "swordwhale's" fin.