While Labor Day usually means the end of summertime, visitors to Newport Aquarium can enjoy ‘Shark Summer’ through Sept. 8.
From crossing over the exhibit on the shark bridge to touching different species of sharks, visitors can make the most of the final days of Shark Summer, including meeting three of the aquarium’s newest residents, two zebra sharks and Shan the shark ray.
Shan and the two zebra sharks may surprise someone who fears these animals. As visitors learn at the aquarium, shark rays and zebra sharks have flat teeth used for “crushing” their food rather than shredding it.
Visitors will also have their last chance to stop by the shark nursery, where real shark eggs are submerged underwater. Each egg belongs to a different shark species and shows the beginning of its life cycle.
Another opportunity to learn through touch that’s exclusive to Shark Summer is an ancient megalodon shark tooth.
“The thrill of ‘Shark Summer’ is something the Cincy region has come to look forward to every year, and you can feel the excitement in the aquarium,” Newport Aquarium Executive Director Rebecca Foster said in a press release, “It’s a perfect summer adventure, but it’s also the perfect time to help our guest’s separate fact from fiction as they learn about our often-misunderstood shark friends.”