Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 10, beginning at 10:00 a.m. as SHARKFEST! returns to the Calvert Marine Museum. This annual event is the museum’s most exciting day of the year and not to be missed.
Doug Poole and his famous SharkPoole, sponsored by The Poole Foundation and Mercury Marine, is returning with more sharks than ever. The SharkPoole is large enough for several adults and a variety of sharks to inhabit. This hands-on experience invites children and parents to touch and learn about members of the shark family, as Doug and his staff work in wet suits inside the 12 foot tank. There is a $3.00 fee for non-members to visit the Sharkpoole, which helps support the animals, keeping them safer and healthier.
The SharkPoole is an effective way for Poole to teach children the facts about sharks – not the myths of man-eaters devouring every human they encounter. Sharks are critical to the ocean’s ecosystem and they deserve our understanding and respect. As an avid fisherman and outdoorsman, Poole believes that hands-on experiences with his exotic animals are the most impressive way to reach and teach kids to be passionate about the outdoors and to be better stewards for the planet. Mr. Poole carefully monitors the children at the SharkPoole and shows them how to properly touch and hold the animals, so as not to injure or harass them.
In addition to the SharkPoole, visitors can have their photo taken in the jaws of a Giant Megalodon shark skeleton, learn amazing facts about shark habits and habitats, and see student artwork about sharks. The day will include fish face painting, shark crafts in the Discovery Room Loft, amazing fossil displays by the Fossil Club, and shark mural painting with the Color and Light Society. Museum admission required; Sharkpoole is an additional $3.00 fee for non-members. No strollers will be allowed inside the museum on July 10, but a secure area will be designated for strollers outside.
Admission to SHARKFEST! and the Sharkpoole experience are free to Calvert Marine Museum members. For more information on SHARKFEST!, please contact Melissa McCormick at mccormmj@co.cal.md.us or visit the museum’s website at www.calvertmarinemuseum.com.