Come to the shark side for a chompin’ good time! Celebrate all things shark at our annual SharkFest, Sunday, July 21. Learn about one of the most successful creatures ever living on our planet. Explore fossil and shark teeth collections, learn about shark behavior and anatomy from experts, and marvel at the apex predator of modern times.
SharkFest combines hands-on science and art for a full day of activities for all ages. Popular stations include:
- The kid zone features a sandpit where kids can dig for fossil shark teeth and bones, just like a real paleontologist.
- Make a shark tooth necklace from your findings. Or purchase your shark tooth in the gift shop for a small extra fee.
- Speaking from our shark dive cage, Emmy-Award-winning underwater cinematographer Nick Caloyianis will join us. Ask him how the cage was damaged, with him in it, during a filming of Shark Week for the Discovery Channel. Nick has 30 National Geographic documentaries to his credit.
- Oceanic Whitetip shark researcher Lucy Howey will share her current project on shark conservation with us. Stop by her table to learn how you can help sharks stay safe and healthy in our oceans.
- How do sharks smell and see? Engage your eyes and nose at the brain function exhibit to find out.
- Step up to a microscope to peer at real shark skin with an NHSM fossil expert.
- Look at all those shark teeth! Marvel at how big and how small shark teeth grow with teeth from our collection. Guided by a fossil expert, learn how these teeth are continually replaced throughout a shark’s lifetime.
Admission to SharkFest is free, but we still need your RSVP. Please register and choose your preferred entrance time. The week before the event, you will receive an email confirming your entrance time. Please arrive within a 15-minute window of the time selected. Please stay for as long as you would like to stay. There is no timed exit for this event. Please stop by the check-in tent before entering the museum or any outdoor stations to receive an armband and the official Sharkfest Scavenger Hunt form. Complete the hunt and earn a prize.
Volunteers make this event possible. Please consider donating your time and talents to make this event even more fabulous. To sign up, please go here: https://app.helperhelper.com/opportunity/425985. Volunteers must be age 13 and older.
For questions, please email Jayne at JAsh@marylandnature.org