Get to know sharks in a new interactive, informative exhibition opening at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. See what it’s like to get up close and personal with sharks at the live shark touch tank, track great white sharks swimming in the Gulf of Mexico in real time, and see what’s happening with sharks all over the world through amazing conservation efforts led by top marine biologists. Sharks are not always given the credit they deserve, but that will all change when you experience Shark!, on exhibit from Aug. 29, 2014 through Mar. 22, 2015.
Shark!, a special exhibition, educates visitors about the important role of sharks in the world’s oceans, with special reference to sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. The exhibit includes:
Shark!, a special exhibition, educates visitors about the important role of sharks in the world’s oceans, with special reference to sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. The exhibit includes:
Shark Cage with Three-sided Video Wall At the beginning of the exhibition, visitors feel as if they are in a shark cage that is in the ocean.
Shark Touch Tank Experience two shark touch tanks – low aquariums made specifically to give museum goers the opportunity to see small sharks up close. The tanks are 9 feet in diameter and contain 700 gallons of seawater each, with two kinds of sharks in them.
Megalodon Display: Megalodon (meaning “big tooth”) is an extinct species of shark that lived approximately 28 to 1.5 million years ago. It is regarded as one of the largest and most powerful predators in vertebrate ocean history. The white shark, or sometimes called the great white shark, is a heavy shark with a long snout and spindle shaped body. It is very wide-ranging through most oceans of the world, which is among the widest of any fish. Today they are rare and vulnerable as a species and are listed as endangered by many countries.
Interpretive Shark Biology Lab: This lab bench area exhibits shark skin, scales, and teeth. Learn the answer to the question, “What is a Shark?,” and see images aimed to educate visitors about sharks from the new book, Sharks of the World - A Fully Illustrated Guide.
Gulf of Mexico Map with Common Shark Species: In this section, discover 74 species in the Gulf of Mexico. They range from the coastal shallows to the deepest parts of the Gulf, but most are found on the continental shelves and slopes. The smallest shark in the Gulf is the marbled catshark at less than 1 foot long and the largest is the whale shark, measuring about 65 feet long. Coastal sharks are mostly small in size, ranging up to about 3 feet, and the species vary depending upon where you are in the Gulf.
Sharks and People: This component of the exhibition shows clips of the now iconic movie Jaws and the new movie Sharknado. It includes information about shark fisheries, both commercial and recreational.
Conservation: Today, the case for shark conservation is more important than ever before. At the end of the exhibition, learn what you can do to help the current plight of sharks around the world and how to support shark research and conservation.
Admision to Sharks! is $25/adult and $20/child, in addition to regular admission. The museum has free admission hours from 3pm to 6pm on Thursdays (only for the museum itself; visitors must still purchase tickets to the special exhibit). For information and hours, visit www.hmns.org.
