…on the Discovery Channel AND at Discovery Place!
Did you know that sharks have roamed our oceans since before the time of dinosaurs?
Take a bite out of summer and learn more about these fascinating sea creatures this week, August 5-9, during Shark Week at Discovery Place.
You can dig for shark tooth fossils, observe dissections and grab a front row seat for a shark feeding in our Aquarium Feeding Tour.
Throughout each day in our Explore More Life lab, you can test your sense of smell against a shark’s to discover who has the most sensitive sniffer. (Here’s a hint: Most sharks can detect animal odors from many miles away.)
We’ll also explore a shark’s seventh sense, the ampullae of Lorenzini, which help them to sense electric fields in the water.
More Fin Facts
– Sharks can only swim forward.
– Shark pectoral fins work like airplane wings, determining depth as they rise and dive in the water.
– Sharks have massive oily livers that filter their high-in-fat diets and provide almost neutral buoyancy.
– Salmon sharks are the world’s fastest sharks and can swim up to 55 miles per hour, twice as fast as Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt’s top speed on land.
– More people die each year from bee stings and lightning strikes than from shark attacks.
– There are more than 350 different species of sharks.
– Because sharks are at the top of the oceanic food chain, they’re vital to maintaining the underwater eco system. Unfortunately, some sharks are near extinction due to commercial fishing and marine pollution.
Click here for a complete listing of daily events focusing on these sharp-toothed sea wonders.
