The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will host its annual Shark Celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at Sea Center Texas in Lake Jackson.
According to a July 15 news release, the department’s Coastal Fisheries staff and volunteers have organized the free event for the past eight years to coincide with the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, using the occasion to present sharks as vital contributors to a healthy ocean rather than objects of fear.
“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. She added that organizers hope guests leave “with a new appreciation and respect for sharks.”
The afternoon’s activities, the release said, include a shark scavenger hunt with prizes for the first 100 winners and “shark performance” stations where visitors can test themselves against sharks’ speed, bite force, leaping ability and electroreception. A shark ice table will let attendees touch real specimens collected during TPWD resource surveys along the Texas coast, while a sand trough filled with buried shark teeth invites participants to sift for teeth they can keep and identify. Face painting and a shark-themed crafting station round out the family programming.
Several partner organizations will also exhibit, according to the department, including Texas A&M University at Galveston’s Shark Biology and Fisheries Science Lab, Moody Gardens’ Aquarium, the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, the Gulf Great White Shark Society, TPWD field offices and the Brazosport Museum.
Operated by TPWD, Sea Center Texas is a public aquarium, marine fish hatchery and education center that draws about 60,000 visitors a year and reaches 30,000 young Texans through its education and hatchery tour programs, the release noted. The facility produces roughly 15 million red drum and spotted seatrout fingerlings stocked in Texas bays each year, supported by more than 150 volunteers who contribute over 12,000 hours of service annually.