From July 28-August 4, SeaWorld celebrates Shark Week with special discounts and activities. Yesterday afternoon my kids and I decided to check out all the offerings for a special report!
Meet an Aquarist
Every Shark Week afternoon, a member of the aquarium team will give an educational talk about sharks and their care. Our aquarist talked about shark anatomy and food sources. Since Shark Week is all about reducing fear through education, he also emphasized the fact that humans are not shark food. While sharks may confuse us with another food source due to misleading shapes caused by surfboards or our own awkward swimming habits, after taking a bite most sharks will notice that we don’t taste like the right type of food and will leave us alone. While this is hardly reassuring to someone who’s already been bitten and suffered injury because of it, it does mean that our actual risk of being bitten or killed by a shark is very low. As our aquarist stated, we have a better chance of being killed by wasps than by sharks. …Well, that’s a nice thought I guess?
Meet the Aquarist occurs at 1pm daily at the shark and ray tanks outside the Sharks Underwater Grill restaurant.
Shark Education Activities
The education team hosts a table full of shark-themed activities near the Sharks Underwater Grill. These educators were awesome! They let my two and four-year-old children draw all over their beautiful chalkboard display (seen above) and really connected with them by getting to their level and offering age appropriate learning opportunities. One of the team members used a rope to show my kids the varying lengths of different types of sharks. (Seeing how long a Great White actually is only reinforces how deeply I do not want to meet one without a cage!) Older kids learned how sharks use electrical fields to find their food by using a metal detector to look for objects hidden in wet sand.
I also learned that if kids ask an educator a question, the team members can give out these snazzy animal picture cards. I know my kids will enjoy collecting these from now on, and they’ll be learning something! If you visit the education table, make sure to say hi to Kendra and Travis! 🙂
Shark Education Activities occur daily from 11:00am-3:00pm outside of the Sharks Underwater Grill.
Discounts
Of course, there are a few promotions available during the celebration. Select Hammerhead and Mako Shark plushes are on special this week for $10. Sharks Up-Close tours are BOGO (which is actually a pretty good deal, since the tour is normally $12.50). Tour participants get to view the shark aquarium from the surface, feed sharks and rays, see the behind the scenes areas, and even touch a small shark all while learning about these fascinating creatures and how SeaWorld cares for their needs.
Final Shark Week Thoughts
I need to mention that, while I enjoyed all of the shark week activities, the emails and website information concerning this event were pretty misleading. They specifically mention a special menu at Sharks Underwater Grill. When I asked about this special menu, the staff looked at me like I was crazy. Also, the email stated that the education table would be inside the Shark Encounter. My kids and I went to the Shark Encounter first and obviously did not there find it since it was located outside the building. Finally, we were told by a team member that there would be an unlisted educational talk inside the encounter at 3:30pm. When I asked another employee about it, they didn’t know what I was talking about.
Club R&R
Until September 1st, the Nautilus Theater is acting as a respite area where guests can sit and escape the heat. I had heard this was happening but had not seen it myself, so I made sure to stop by after leaving the shark area.
It’s basically a club. It’s dark. There are strobe lights and random effects as well as loud music pumping throughout the theater. There’s nothing else really going on inside, but all of the theater seating is available to rest and relax as long as you wish. The atmosphere is a good fit for the Electric Ocean summer season, and I’m sure the music and lights are entertaining for kids while the adults take a break.
