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Virginia Living Museum’s Shark Zone exhibit aims to show predator in new light

Posted at 4:43 AM, May 13, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-13 11:03:39-04

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A new exhibit at the Virginia Living Museum is letting visitors get up close and personal with one of the world's most feared predators.

Shark Zone opened to the public on May 11. The exhibit has a number of experiences to help guests learn about sharks:

  • Visitors can touch live catsharks and skates in a chilled, saltwater tank. Underwater viewing windows add an up-close perspective.
  • The Shark Cage puts visitors face-to-face with a full-size great white shark replica while a computer tracks 20 tagged great whites.
  • A collection of National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry's underwater photos of sharks.
  • The Shark Research Station is a play area where kids can capture five different plush shark species and test them before releasing them into the ocean.
  • Fossil Beach offers a chance to dig for real fossilized shark teeth and identify the type of shark.
  • At six feet wide and six feet tall, the Megalodon Shark Jaw gives visitors an idea of just how large sharks became in prehistoric times.

“Marvel at the diversity of the over 400 types of sharks in the oceans today---from one the size of your hand that glows in the dark to one the size of an SUV.  Sharks come in all different shapes and most of them do not resemble the shark movie predator,” said VLM Exhibits Director Fred Farris.

The Virginia Living Museum, located at 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News, is open every day from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $20 for adults and $15 for children ages 3-12.