Baltimore SharkFest

Our SharkFest celebration begins with an opening night lecture series featuring Jay Bradley, Blue Wonders curator from the National Aquarium, and shark researcher Dr. Stacy Farina, an evolutionary and functional expert from Howard University.

As the curator of the Blue Wonders: Reefs to Rainforests exhibit, Jay oversees the care of all animals housed in the Blacktip Reef, Living Seashore, and Shark Alley exhibits. He works closely with two assistant curators and several aquarists. Blacktip Reef is an award-winning exhibit simulating an Indo-Pacific reef with 69 species and 630 animals. Shark Alley features seven species of sharks, skates, and rays. Jay joined the National Aquarium at its original Washington, D.C., location in 1997. In March 2013, Jay followed the aquarium to its present Baltimore location. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from George Mason University in Virginia and a master’s degree in marine biology from Florida Institute of Technology. His thesis project focused on the feeding ecology of Atlantic stingrays.

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 with games and crafts 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. In many ways, micro teeth are even more fascinating than larger ones.

Cost:

Fossil Club Member - $5.00

NHSM Member - $8.00

Non Member - $10.00

Date: July 20-21, 2024