Shark Week! Shark Week? With Shark Summer at Adventure Aquarium, you can experience sharks all summer long! Not only that, but Adventure Aquarium offers shark activities and attractions all year long. Keep reading to learn all the ways to have a shark-riffic time.
We recently visited Adventure Aquarium to learn about the latest shark activities and attractions they have to offer kids, teens, adults, and guests of all ages. In full disclosure, as journalists, we were provided with tickets for our visit.
Sharks at Adventure Aquarium
Before we get started allow me to tell you about the sharks at Adventure Aquarium.
In addition to a critically endangered great hammerhead shark, the Aquarium is home to shark species including sandbar sharks (endangered), sand tiger sharks (critically endangered), Pacific blacktip reef sharks (vulnerable), nurse sharks (vulnerable), silky sharks (vulnerable), whitespotted bamboo sharks, brownbanded bamboo sharks, and epaulet sharks.
Got little ones? Read Free Admission to Adventure Aquarium for Little Kids when you’re done with this feature.
Year-round Shark Activities at Adventure Aquarium
These Adventure Aquarium activities are available throughout the year, regardless of when you visit the aquarium.
Travel through a tunnel of sharks
Adventure Aquarium’s shark tunnel is 40 feet long making it the longest such tunnel in New Jersey. In addition to the dozens of sharks you can watch swim all around you, there are more than 200 other aquatic animals. It’s quite a mesmerizing experience. I could sit there all day and just watch the animals swim around me.
Walk the Shark Bridge
One of the must-do shark activities at Adventure Aquarium is to take a walk over the sharks on the Shark Bridge. I never miss a chance to do this. There is no additional charge to walk the Shark Bridge.
Did you know Adventure Aquarium Shark Bridge is the longest, V-shaped rope suspension bridge in the world? As you walk across the 81 foot Shark Bridge with your kids you’ll be just inches above the 21-foot deep Shark Realm exhibit. But no worries, the bridge feels very secure and safe.
Through the nets below you can see nearly 30 magnificent sand tiger, sandbar and nurse sharks and other animals. If you position your camera just right you can capture some great pictures of the sharks below.
Touch a shark at Adventure Aquarium
One of our other favorite areas to have experiences with sharks at Adventure Aquarium is the Touch A Shark exhibit. There is time every hour when children and adults can touch epaulet sharks and bamboo sharks. The two-finger touch rule does apply and nearby staff are always happy to help children learn more about sharks. There is no additional charge to touch a shark.
Pose with a shark
In the Ocean Realm and throughout the aquarium, children and adults alike can walk up to wall size windows to watch swimming silky sharks, bottlehead sharks, blacknose sharks, and other sharks at the Adventure Aquarium.
As you watch the sharks have your cameras ready, you never know when one might swim by for the perfect photo.
There are also wall size murals and other life size shark structures guests can pose with.
‘Enter’ shark-invested waters
In the Cage Match, guests enter a virtual shark cage. It’s like stepping inside an elevator, but the doors don’t close. The floor is a slab of metal and the sides represent steel bars. On the largest wall is a screen that plays videos of sharks swimming and coming toward the ‘cage.’
Feel the sharpness of a shark’s teeth
In the Shark Realm is usually a shark information table. There, Adventure Aquarium team members have authentic shark teeth, jaws, and other bone remnants for guests to touch and examine. Check with the aquarium’s schedule for specific times.
Watch Adventure Aquarium shark shows
The Adventure Aquarium offers a number of shows to help visiting families learn more about sharks. Here’s a sampling of them. Please check the Aquarium Schedule for showtimes. There is no additional charge for these shows.
Shark Realm Chat
During this show, a shark expert will share details about the sharks of Shark Realm that make up the largest collection of sharks in the Northeast.
Ocean Realm Chat
Here, an animal expert introduces guests to the animals of the Ocean Realm, including sea turtles Bob, Stitches and Old Green; Anchor the great hammerhead shark; and dozens of friendly stingrays.
Meet the Divers
Meet and talk with the divers who swim with the sharks at Adventure Aquarium every day. The volunteer divers will swim underwater in special masks as they talk with guests. Listen as they share about their experiences while diving and the steps they follow to stay safe and communicate with fellow divers.
Learn about sharks
With signage, wall mural, and shark experts on hand your kids can learn so much about the different types of sharks in our marine habitats.
‘Ride’ a Hammerhead Shark – BONUS
For the little ones, they can venture outside to the Adventure Aquarium playground and pretend to ride a hammerhead shark. There is a playful statue of one in the playground.
Summer Adventure Aquarium Shark Activities
These shark activities take place at Adventure Aquarium as part of Shark Summer, from July 17 through August 20! Guests visiting during the shark-filled festival will have the chance to learn about the oceans’ top apex predators, take a bite out of jaw-some activities, and see the Scuba Tooth Fairy.
Help the Shark Tooth Fairy
Help the Shark Tooth Fairy collect all the shark teeth. Guests can see the Scuba Tooth Fairy in Adventure Aquarium’s Ocean Realm exhibit, diving DAILY at 11:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., and 2:45 p.m.
During these magical appearances, the Scuba Tooth Fairy will sift through the sand, in the Aquarium’s 550,000-gallon Ocean Realm exhibit, in search of fallen shark teeth of all shapes and sizes. There is no additional charge for this.
Snorkel with the sharks
It’s not quite swimming with the sharks, but it’s still a pretty close and fun encounter guests can have with sharks. It’s the closest shark encounter you can have at Adventure Aquarium. We weren’t brave enough to try.
Guests as young as 12 years old can put on a wetsuit and snorkel to test the water and get within inches of Adventure Aquarium’s sandbar and sand tiger sharks. After meeting the shiver of sharks, guests can swim with and feed dozens of playful stingrays. So cool!
Shark & Ray Encounters are available to purchase online only and are limited to Fridays at 1 p.m. and Saturdays/Sundays at 10 a.m. OR 1 p.m. Children must be 12 years or older to participate.
Previously there was a Swim with Sharks experience, but that is not available for Shark Summer 2023.
Observe sharks from above
With the Top of the Shark Realm Tours, guests get a behind-the-scenes aerial view of Adventure Aquarium’s Shark Realm exhibit. We did this and enjoyed it. The Shark Realm is home to dozens of aquatic creatures, including sandbar and sand tiger sharks. It’s a unique way to get closer to the sharks without having to be in the tank with them.
Tours are guided by a shark expert who will answer questions about the sharks. The tour also includes viewing a private pool of stingrays positioned near the Shark Realm.
Top of the Shark Realm Tours are available to purchase online only for $20 and include a commemorative photo.
Test your shark knowledge
How much do you know about sharks? Find out during a Shark-centric edition of the Walk the Plank game show.
Chat it up with a shark expert
Shark Experts will be available to help guests learn more about the ocean’s most misunderstood creatures, sharks.
Get crafty with shark crafts
Shark craft activities are included with admission. Pick up a fun-filled Shark Activity sheet or get creative and color your own eco-friendly shark hat! During our visit, the craft activities were set up in the main level hallway to the rear of the Aquarium, past the rotunda, near the nursing room and virtual reality booths.
Oooh and aww over sharky lights
During Shark Summer, Adventure Aquarium makes the most of its dazzling Rotunda with shark-themed lights that light up at the top of each hour.
Learn more or book a reservation now at AdventureAquarium.com.
Whether you’re just a shark fan during shark week or want to learn more about sharks yearround, Adventure Aquarium is an ideal location to take your family. Read Aquatic Adventures Await: Discover the Magic of Camden NJ’s Adventure Aquarium to help you get to know more about Adventure Aquarium.
Got little ones? Read Free Admission to Adventure Aquarium for Little Kids when you’re done with this feature.