Media Contact: TPWD News, Business Hours, 512-389-8030
News Image Share on Facebook Share Release URL
LAKE JACKSON – Join Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries staff and volunteers this Saturday, July 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the annual Shark Celebration at Sea Center Texas in Lake Jackson.
For the past eight years, Sea Center Texas has hosted the Shark Celebration event to coincide with the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.
“The goal of this event is to highlight sharks as important components of a healthy marine ecosystem,” said Juliana Moore, Sea Center Texas Visitor Center Coordinator. “We’d love for our guests to leave with a new appreciation and respect for sharks.”
Admission to the event is free, and attendees receive a unique opportunity to spend the afternoon learning about shark science, chat with knowledgeable shark researchers, test athleticism against the superpowers of the ocean’s top predators and participate in various shark-related activities.
This year’s activities include:
- A shark scavenger hunt that offers prizes for the first 100 winners.
- “Shark performance” stations, where visitors will learn about shark speed, bite force, leaping abilities and electroreception.
- A shark ice table with real shark specimens that attendees can touch and interact with. These sharks came from TPWD’s resource surveys along the Texas coast!
- A sand trough filled with buried shark teeth – participants use shovels and sand sifters to hunt for teeth that they can keep. A neighboring station teaches about the different kinds of shark teeth and helps guests identify what they found.
- Face painting
- Shark-themed crafting station
- And more!
In addition, exhibits by Texas A&M University Galveston’s Shark Biology and Fisheries Science Lab, Moody Garden’s Aquarium, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Gulf Great White Shark Society, TPWD field offices and the Brazosport Museum will also be on display.
Sea Center Texas is a public aquarium, marine fish hatchery and education center operated by TPWD. Admission to the center is free of charge and averages 60,000 visitors annually. The education program and hatchery tours at Sea Center reach 30,000 youths across the state, and the fish hatchery produces about 15 million red drum and spotted seatrout fingerlings that are stocked in Texas bays each year. Their volunteer program consists of over 150 individuals who donate more than 12,000 hours of service annually.
For more information about Sea Center Texas, visit the center’s website.
