SEA LIFE Michigan to Celebrate Shark Week with Sweepstakes and Shark-Tastic Activities

SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium, located in Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, will celebrate Shark Week from July 5 to July 10 with fun activities in the aquarium, as well as a special Facebook contest offering participants the chance to win two general admission tickets, two behind the scenes tour vouchers and the opportunity to assist with a shark feeding demonstration. SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium General Manager Hayley Townsend made the announcement.

“SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium is fortunate to be home to ten sharks, and we are dedicated to educating our guests about them in fun and engaging ways,” said Townsend. “With the country buzzing with excitement over Shark Week, we feel it’s the perfect time to showcase these amazing creatures and their true nature, and bust common myths about them.”

The contest to win the tickets, behind the scenes tour and opportunity to assist with the shark feed will run from July 6 to July 9 on the aquarium’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/sealifemichigan. Additionally, SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium will host a variety of themed activities throughout the week, including:

· Shark-themed scavenger hunt for children, to be distributed at admissions.

· Daily educational talks with a specific focus on sharks.

· Surprise meet and greet opportunities with SEA LIFE’s mascot, Magnus the Shark, every day throughout the week.

SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium houses ten sharks, including four blacknose sharks, three blacktip sharks, two bonnethead sharks and one nurse shark. All of these sharks live in reef environments, with shallow, warm waters, and typically feed on squid and mackerel.

“There are a lot of popular myths about sharks out there that we’d like to debunk this week. For example, a lot of people think they hunt humans and that they’re all very large,” said SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium Displays Curator Kelli Cadenas. “The truth is, only a small percentage of sharks get really large, and the largest sharks—whale sharks, basking sharks and megamouth sharks—are filter feeders that have a diet of plankton. In fact, humans are not in the diet of any shark species. Shark attacks often occur in water near shores, where the sounds of humans swimming are similar to that of fish or seals splashing. Most shark bites are “test bites”, where a shark bites to see what the object is and lets it go. That’s why most shark bites are one-bite injuries, and don’t result in fatalities.”

For more information about visiting SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium and its wide variety of creatures, go to www.visitsealife.com/michigan/.