'Shark Planet: Predator or Prey' headed to the Virginia Science Museum in the summer

The Virginia Science Museum is bringing sea predators to Richmond this summer with the opening of the traveling exhibition “Shark Planet: Predator or Prey”.

“What you will see as you walk around is a mixture of real artifacts, replicas of artifacts and then interactive stations,” said Jennifer Guild, a museum spokeswoman.

Illuminated by blue lights and decorated with shark replicas, the exhibition has an underwater feel. In the impressive SENSORI4 ™ gallery, 11 large screens show a 45-minute film showing underwater shots of sharks and other marine life up close.

Timshel Purdum, director of education, is excited about the new exhibition and the educational value it offers.

“I like to see all the jaws in one place because I like to see all the different things they eat,” Purdum said. “Because all the different forms tell you what his dinner is.”

Guests can learn more about extinct and modern sharks on interactive tablets. Through this educational tool, people can see animated models of species that existed thousands of years ago.

Purdum, as a biologist, has a wealth of knowledge about sharks.

“Sharks belong to a group of animals called Chondrichthies, and one of the things they all have in common is a cartilaginous body, “Purdum said.” So their whole skeleton is made of the same cartilage that would be in your nose or your ears. ”

Museum director Richard Conti says the goal of the exhibition is to change people’s perspective on sharks. To challenge people’s perspectives, the exhibition provides informative graphics and statistics on how many people die from shark attacks and how many sharks kill people.

According to Purdum, in 2021, only 10 people died from shark attacks, and the average number of deaths from attacks is six per year. Contrary to those statistics, the exhibition explains that it is estimated that people kill about 100 million sharks every year due to excessive fishing, pollution and habitat destruction.

“If I can change your perspective on them, so you think a little differently about them and think, ‘Wow, I had no idea we killed millions of times more than they get from us,'” Conti explained. . “Maybe I just misunderstood things from what I saw in the media and popular culture.”

The exhibition addresses the widespread fear of sharks fueled by the media and pop culture. It began in 1916 when attacks off the coast of Jersey caused panic and fear.

For the past five years, the Virginia Science Museum has hosted a traveling exhibition at its Dewey Gottwald Center. Courtney Moyer, director of communications and curiosity, says that when looking for traveling exhibitions, the museum is looking for topics that have universal appeal.

“We are trying to enter exhibitions that will meet our criteria of interactivity, something that we do not cover in the museum, and then we are also trying to change the topics,” Moyer said.

“You bring shows that travel all over the world, so it’s a nice opportunity to see something you wouldn’t otherwise see,” Conti said. “We have fun because then the whole museum can play a little.

Permeating the theme of sharks in the museum, the House houses the film Great White Sharks and two art exhibitions: “Picturing Science”, which emphasizes the anatomy of the skeleton of vertebrate fish; and “JARS: Sharks on Loan,” which features cartilaginous fish from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, according to the SMV website.

Changing perspectives is a key goal of the museum in the last 10 years, Conti said.

“Instead of the museum dealing with science, let’s deal with things that people care about and connect science with that,” Conti said. “It was much easier, much more fun, and I think better. And so instead of trying to get people to come see chemistry or go to a physics gallery, people come to see sharks or food or communications or sports or music, things that people are passionate about. “

“Planet Shark: Predator or Prei” was created by the Grande Experiences of Australia and lasts until Labor Day.

To learn more or plan a visit to “Planet Sharks” at the Virginia Science Museum, visit his website: smv.org.