The Calvert Marine Museum had an easy decision to make more than five years ago when choosing which aquatic animal to honor with an annual festival.
"We could have had Whalefest, but we chose sharks because they're so popular and people never tire of them," museum curator of paleontology Stephen Godfrey said.
Sharkfest, a celebration of one of the world's most popular oceanic predators, is Saturday at the museum in Solomons. There will be a variety of educational activities dedicated to sharks, both living and extinct.
The highlight of Sharkfest is the "SharkPoole," essentially a large fish tank stocked with sharks, skates and stingrays. Visitors can see these wild marine animals up close and personal and even have an opportunity to touch the skin of a live shark.
The SharkPoole is owned and operated by Doug Poole, a Calvert County resident who has handled and rescued sharks, snakes and other animals for more than 30 years. Poole uses his live shark pool to entertain and educate local children.
"Education conquers everything," Poole said. "We teach kids that we're guests when we go into the ocean. We try to get rid of the Hollywood image of Jaws. Kids and parents both get a better understanding of these animals."
Poole estimates that his SharkPoole allowed about 1,000 children to get in touch with sharks, stingrays and scopes last year.
"The biggest reward is the kids," Poole said. "It's neat to see them play with animals."
The SharkPoole "is the big 'wow' factor, but fans of paleontology will also enjoy the event," museum deputy director Sherrod Sturrock said.
Paleontology is one of the Calvert Marine Museum's three major themes. The museum has a large fossil collection from the Miocene Epoch, when a shallow ocean covered Southern Maryland 10 million to 20 million years ago. New fossils are exposed daily when waves, wind and rain erode the Calvert Cliffs. These fossils include shells, shark teeth and the remains of turtles, crocodiles and the occasional elephant or rhino.
"Our focus in terms of paleontology is because of the Calvert Cliffs, and one of the most popular fossils found at the Calvert Cliffs is fossilized shark teeth," Godfrey said.
The centerpiece of the museum's Miocene fossil collection is a 37-foot skeletal re-creation of a carcharodon megalodon shark. The megalodon is an extinct species of white shark -- known to be in excess of 50 feet long -- that inhabited the area.
"It's wild to think that megalodons were swimming around here," Sturrock said.
Members of the museum's fossil club will be on hand to show off their personal collections, and Godfrey plans to dissect a shark or stingray to show the anatomical similarities between today's animals and those of the past. Kids can also participate in other shark-related activities such as making a shark hat, painting a shark mural and getting a picture taken in the jaws of a megalodon skeleton.
"Sharkfest is really fun," Sturrock said. "Sharks are like pirates. Kids love them and they're excited to learn about them, so we want to celebrate sharks."
matt.vensel@baltsun.com
Sharkfest is Saturday at the Calvert Marine Museum, 14200 Solomons Island Road, Solomons. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $2 for children ages 5-12 and free for children younger than 5. For more information, call 410-326-2042 or go to calvert marinemuseum.com.