HOUSTON – You can “seas” the day at a fin-tastic exhibit opening in Houston this summer.
“Sharks! The Meg, The Monsters & The Myths” will open May 27 to the general public at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, located at 5555 Hermann Park Drive in downtown Houston.
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Guests who visit the upcoming exhibit will be able to walk through six galleries that include live animals, 14 life-sized models, exciting physical interactives and touchable items.
There will be plenty of photo opportunities and a 360-square-foot virtual “shark tank,” which will immediately welcome visitors when they enter the exhibit.
A life-sized, 50-foot female megalodon model will also be on display.
“Sharks are actually ancient creatures that have been around for over 450 million years, making them older than the Himalayas, dinosaurs, and even trees,” according to a press release promoting the upcoming exhibit.
These cunning creatures have been given a bad rap thanks to pop culture movies like “Jaws” but they’re actually apex predators actually play an important role in the ecosystem by maintaining the species below them in the food chain, Oceana reported.
“The ocean ecosystems would become unbalanced - seagrasses would be overgrazed, the coral reefs would decline, and life in the oceans would eventually die,” said Nicole Temple, Vice President of Education for HMNS and exhibit curator. “Sharks are critical to maintaining the health of our oceans, which are a huge carbon sink for the planet. Really, sharks help keep us alive.”
“Sharks are remarkably diverse and efficient predators but are more threatened than threatening. In fact, over one-third of shark species are now facing the threat of extinction,” Temple continued.
Entrance into the exhibition requires a separate ticket from the HMNS ticket. Hours and pricing for the museum can be found here.
“With this exhibition, we hope that our guests are able to explore the misconceptions, mysteries, and mystique of sharks to help pave the way for conservation efforts, as well as explore their unique adaptations and behaviors that continue to inspire scientific innovation around the world,” said Temple.