Selecting from several cartoon-like physical traits representing different behaviors, people can launch this fish into their own Personal Tank and see how their selections affect their fish's interactions. The larger the mouth, the hungrier the fish, for example. By logging in, people can tag and name up to four fish, releasing them one by one into the cyberstream. Seconds later, their fish is swimming in the Museum's tank. On a future visit, people can retrieve and release their creation, watching as it interacts with other fish in the big tank.
Visitors can also build a new fish and send it back home.
Anyone who can't visit the Museum can receive their fish's life story, including where it swam in the big tank, when it was hungry, and how long it lived. In the future, people will be able to send fish to a network of Virtual FishTanks, based on the Museum model, at museums and other venues around the world. Taking advantage of exciting new technologies to expand our educational impact fits perfectly with our mission. The Museum has been exploring new ways to present scientific and technological advances. With the incorporation of The Computer Museum's legacy, the Museum of Science has accelerated the enhancement of computing and other technologies throughout the institution.