MIDDLEBORO — Whether it was exploring the latest in heat sealing technology for a house, stepping inside a life size whale or making a one-of-a-kind shark tooth necklace, there was a lot to learn about the environment and staying cool in Middleboro.

The third annual Cooler Middleboro fair took place at Middleboro High School Saturday, March 1 and was organized by Sustainable Middleboro, a non-profit dedicated to helping people understand how to make their homes more energy efficient.

The fair featured a number of organizations and businesses from the South Coast that are environmentally minded.

"We wanted to raise awareness for all the groups who are working on issues around the environment," said Sustainable Middleboro President Kimberly French. "We wanted people to learn a little bit and have fun."

To go along with a number of displays detailing various energy-saving topics, there were many activities for people to learn about different marine animals.

The activities included creating a custom shark tooth necklace, making a maritime bookmark and taking a step inside a life-size inflatable humpback whale.

The activities were organized by the Middleboro based sea animal advocacy group New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance.

"This is good for the children because they come and make bookmarks but it gets them interested in the whales and the sea," said Joan Gueirton who was helping kids make bookmarks.

New this year was an ice house that the alliance had set up where they played different whale songs for people to hear.

Also on display were Nichols Middle School student-made water filters. The filters were made mostly of plastic bottles as a base, and the students made their own filters out of a material of their choosing.

"The students took unfiltered water, measured the mass of it and ran the water through their filtration systems and measured the mass again to see how much sediment was captured," said seventh-grade science teacher Britney Bowley.

Middleboro resident Caitlin Keresey was at the fair with her husband Brendon and their son Lucas because she said Lucas wanted to see the big whale again.

"It's like going to a children's museum or a science museum and it's right down the street," Keresey said. "I think it's so important for [Lucas] to get involved and do hands-on work while he is taught about all the animals."