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Up close and personal with a shark: Mobius Discovery Center offers science, crafts and art all about the heavily toothed underwater species

A young child takes a closer look at a giant whale shark washed up at Bare Island La Perouse in Botany Bay. Children have a chance to get up close and personal with a real shark as part of Mobius Discovery Center's Shark Day dissection event. (Getty Images)
By Rachel Baker For The Spokesman-Review

When you think of a classic American summer, there are a few things that come to mind – backyard sprinklers, Fourth of July fireworks, melting popsicles, and ever since “Jaws” took America by storm in 1975, sharks have joined the list.

Discovery Channel answered America’s shark craze in 1988 with the introduction of Shark Week. Taking advantage of our collective fascination (and misconceptions) of sharks, American summers now include a week full of television programming dedicated to helping us learn more about these incredible creatures.

Mobius Discovery Center has joined the summer tradition of celebrating sharks with their highly popular Shark Day, this year landing on Wednesday.

One of Mobius’s biggest Shark Day attractions is a demonstrated dissection of a real shark. Shark dissection demonstration times are 10:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m., and 3:15 p.m.

Although the shark dissections are demonstrated by Mobius educators, they are followed by an opportunity for visitors to get an exciting hands-on experience.

“At the end, after watching it, visitors can come up and actually touch the shark and feel the roughness of the skin,” said Amanda Gilliam, marketing manager at Mobius Discovery Center.

Sharks may look smooth at first glance, but when you run your hand from tail to head, their skin has a sandpaper-like texture. It is made up of small teeth-like scales that point in the direction of their tail in order to reduce friction as they move through the water. The texture is so effective that it has inspired biomimicry in the design of performance fabrics.

Visitors will get to explore a whole exhibit floor filled with various activities, crafts, and opportunities to learn all about sharks and their underwater lives. Explore the sea with shark virtual reality, get crafty with an upcycled shark craft with Art Salvage, and have lots of fun with shark themed games.

“I think it’s the coolest day of the year,” said Gilliam, so don’t miss your chance for a day of all things sharks.

Tickets are first-come, first-serve, with normal hours of operation from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mobius Discover Center is located at 331 N. Post St., near Spokane City Hall. For additional information, visit mobiusdiscovercenter.org or call (509) 321-7121.