Shark Encounters of the Extinct Kind at The Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Remember this time last year when my family hung out at Greater Cleveland Aquarium?

Wonder if they have some Mommy or Baby sharks…. or Grandma sharks?

(too much?)

FEROCIOUS OR FIN-CREDIBLE? Shark Encounters of the Extinct Kind

GREATER CLEVELAND AQUARIUM HOSTS WEEK-LONG CELEBRATION OF SHARKS

Extinct mega sharks wreaking havoc on overconfident scientists. Sci-fi disasters that cyclone menacing sharks into skyscrapers. A vindictive shark that taunts a beach community. Celebrity shark encounters. Popular culture has given sharks a menacing mythology, but in reality there’s much more to revere than fear when it comes to these jaw-some creatures.

Learn more about the misunderstood masters of the deep at Fin Fest:

Sunday, July 28 through Sunday, August 4, 10am – 5pm at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Locaed in the FirstEnergy Powerhouse – Flats West Bank

2000 Sycamore Street, Cleveland, OH 44113

Call for more information: 216.862.8803

 Or visit their website: greaterclevelandaquarium.com

As with everything at the Aquarium, there’s a healthy dose of education and fun. Scavenger hunts, crafts, giveaways, photo ops, storytelling, a shark tooth identification game and an interactive art installation throughout the week-long celebration of sharks highlight fin-tastic facts. “I think it’s pretty amazing that sandtiger sharks have three rows of teeth that they continually lose and replace,” says Education Coordinator Matt Debelak. “Fin Fest-goers walking down our 175-foot seatube can look up to see a sandtiger’s toothy grin and appreciate the fact that particular shark could cycle through as many as 20,000 to 30,000 teeth in a lifetime.”

The Aquarium also will attempt to dispel shark fears through educational aquarist and SCUBA diver talks. “In real life, people are way more of a threat to sharks than they are to us,” explains Debelak, noting that humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks each year and that the demand for shark fins, illegal fishing and unintentional catching has put 20 to 30 percent of the 400 known species of sharks close to extinction. “Globally there were 5 fatal attacks by sharks on humans last year,” says Debelak.

Fin Fest

Aquarium GM Tami Brown sees Fin Fest as an opportunity to raise awareness of the shark’s important role in the food chain. “As the top predator, their disappearance would throw the whole ocean ecosystem into chaos,” says Aquarium GM and Splash Fund Director Tami Brown. “Four hundred million plus years ago when humans weren’t even a blip on Earth’s biological timeline, sharks ruled the blue planet from the deep,” says Brown. “How can we let them go the way of the dinosaurs?”

For more information visit greaterclevelandaquarium.com. All Fin Fest activities are included with general admission.