Catch Shark Fever During Shark Week at North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores

By Claire Aubel

Atlantic Beach, NC - Sink your teeth into the fascinating world of sharks during Shark Week at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. The special celebration July 26 – Aug. 1 offers a close-up look at these mysterious and often misunderstood predators.

Shark Week features shark-themed programs, films, displays, games and other activities, all free with paid admission or membership.  Fin-filled activities include:
• Touch bamboo sharks in a special exhibit
• Talk to Aquarium divers as they swim with sharks in the Live Dive programs
• Bring the youngsters to Discovery Classroom for shark-themed crafts and games
• View shark Creature Features and films in Big Rock Theater, including the award-winning documentary, Sharkwater
• Watch the excitement with shark feeding programs
• Show your own toothy grin for a unique photo op in the replicated jaws of a huge, prehistoric megalodon
• Compete for prizes in Shark Jeopardy
• Stay out late for a Sharks Family Night on Thursday, July 30, with more shark-themed activities and programs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

About 25 of the more than 350 shark species worldwide frequent North Carolina’s near-shore waters. Only a few species have been known to attack humans. Most shark bites along East Coast shorelines have been attributed to sharks mistaking swimmers for fish.

The human impact on sharks poses another sort of threat. Over-fishing, hunting, pollution and other factors have caused shark numbers to decline worldwide. Many shark species are classified as endangered and all northwest Atlantic shark species have dramatically declined in the past 15 years. Scientists fear major shifts in the ocean ecosystem if populations of these top predators continue to wane.

At the Aquarium, the 306,000-gallon Living Shipwreck is home to a sand tiger shark measuring nearly nine feet long. Two smaller sand tigers, sandbar sharks and nurse sharks also swim the Living Shipwreck, and a bonnethead shark can be seen in Queen Anne’s Revenge.

Shark Week activities are free with membership or regular admission-- $8 for ages 18-61, $7 for ages 62 and up and $6 for ages 6-17. Children 5 and under and members of the North Carolina Aquariums are admitted free.

Normal operating hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. On designated Family Nights, hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; ticket sales end at 8 p.m.

The Aquarium is five miles west of Atlantic Beach at 1 Roosevelt Blvd., Atlantic Beach, NC 28512. See www.ncaquariums.com or call 252-247-4003 for more information.

PHOTO: Get a close-up look at sandbar sharks like this one and many other shark species during Shark Week, July 26-Aug. 1 at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. Photo courtesy Craig Davies for the North Carolina Aquariums.

To view North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-728-North_Carolina_Aquarium_at_Pine_Knoll_Shores