Touch a shark

I touched a shark and it was swell!Touch a shark and get a sticker to proudly proof it. The Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz is one of my favorite places in the Bay Area. Besides petting a shark – a real swell shark that is! – you are also invited by the great volunteers to get your finger wrapped up by sea creatures like anemones, spot a hermit crab or hold a sea star. The aquarium tanks hold shark babies and jellyfish. Jellyfish floating in a tankDid you know that jellyfish needed a round tank to generate the circular flow keeping them suspended in the tank?

If you talk about the wildlife of the Bay you also need to see the exhibit on the sea otter. There is otter fur to touch, which is the softest fur ever.

Shark Science Week is July 22 – 28. 2018 – to get a deeper understanding of sharks.

Sea Otter Awareness Week is September 22 – 30. 2018 – this is an annual event all around the Bay recognizing the importance of the sea otter for the nearshore ecosystem.

Inside Ms. BlueThe tour that is included in the entrance fee takes you outside the center. It starts off with the history of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. An important stop is Ms. Blue, the 87 feet long blue whale skeleton that greets every visitor. You are invited to go into her belly, touch some baleen plate, that is used to filter out food and a glass jar of krill to understand how much food is needed for these giants. The tour might end behind the scene of the Joseph M. Long Laboratory. Here our group got to see two dolphins and a seal that are being studied.

In July and August the Seymour Marine Discovery Center is open every day 10 am – 5 pm. Adults admission is $9, senior, children and students are $7. For the free days you need to check the web site. They also participate in the Discover and Go program.

Have you ever touched a shark?

 

2 thoughts on “Touch a shark

  • July 23, 2018 at 1:21 pm
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    Looks awesome!!

    • July 26, 2018 at 11:59 pm
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      It is 🙂 And since it is a research center, I’m sure you’d appreciate it!

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