Our family took a trip down to The Calvert Marine Museum in Solomon’s Island, Maryland to see the grand opening of their newest exhibit Sharkabet! A Sea of Sharks from A to Z. Visitors of all ages are sure to enjoy these bright and vibrant illustrations displaying an alphabet of living and extinct sharks in a series of colorful, fanciful, yet scientifically accurate paintings.  The exhibit is based off of the book “Sharkabet: A Sea of Sharks from A to Z” by Ray Troll and features different types of sharks repressed by each letter of the alphabet. From “A” Angelsharks to “Z” Zebrasharks, the artist provides us with a variety of unique species of sharks in hopes that “Sharkabet” will expand people’s awareness of the diversity of sharks. This exhibit is located in the Mezzanine Gallery and is on display now through December 2017.

The Sharkabet exhibit is a great resource for children learning letter recognition. My four year old and two year old had a blast walking about the display to point out letters. The Calvert Marine Museum does an exceptional job making this exhibit hands on and educational. There were two tables set up with activities; The Just a Drop and Mark the Shark stations. Both which were great teaching resources to help children of all ages learn interesting information about sharks. At the Just a Drop station, you get to test your accuracy for sense of smell. You get to investigate and see if you can correctly identify a specific odor in just a drop like a shark. At this station you will find four mason jars filled with water. In the first jar there is one drop of essential oil, jar two has five drops, jar three has ten drops and jar four has twenty drops. Take a guess at what you smell; the answer is in a small treasure chest. You may be surprised with how difficult it is… just goes to show how sharp a shark sense of smell is! At the Mark the Shark station you get to learn all about the various forms and functions of sharks fins. Through a serious of hints you are challenged to mark with a dry eraser marker on a card the different types of fins on a shark.

The Sharkabet exhibit is enough alone to convince us to come on down to the Calvert Marine Museum. It’s an added bonus that there are tons of interactive and family friend exhibits on display year round. My boys love the Discovery Room which is an ultimate kids zone! From pretending to sail a boat to climbing the miniature light house my boys have hours of fun in the room. They love digging for sharks teeth and taking home a little souvenir.  It’s also a family favorite to observe, learn about and even touch some of the marine life. From baby otters to sting rays and terrapins to horse shoe crabs there’s so much to admire and explore.

For The Playful Parent Tour of the Calvert Marine Museum read this article: Visit: https://theplayfulparent.org/2016/07/03/calvert-marine-museum/

CALVERT MARINE MUSEUM

P.O. Box 97 – 14200 Solomons Island Road

Solomons, MD 20688

The museum is open daily from 10:00 AM to 5 PM. Admission is $9.00 for adults, $7.00 for seniors, military & AAA members, $4.00 for children ages 5-12; children under the age of 5 and museum members are always admitted FREE. For more information about the museum, upcoming events, or membership, visit www.calvertmarinemuseum.com or call 410-326-2042.