Museum shark exhibit features touch tank

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Movies like "Sharknado" and "Jaws" have given sharks a bad rap, but a new exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science is hoping to change that by not only educating kids, but adults, too. The exhibit just opened and will be in Houston until March 22, 2015.

Curator of Marine Biology, Wes Tunnel, says that fear we have of sharks is natural, thanks to all of those scary movies, but an attack is not likely.

"You're likely to die from many other things -- a lightning strike -- than being bit by a shark," Tunnel said.

He and Ocearch Founding Chairman Chris Fischer are on a mission to teach us about why we should take an interest in this species.

"Our sharks and our ocean are facing big challenges right now. Sharks are the lions of the ocean. They're the balance keeper. If we lose our sharks, there will be no fish for our kids to eat," Fischer said.

This exhibit allows visitors to get up close and personal with these sea creatures, and learn more about why conservation is so important.

"There's a wide range of size. The smallest ones are a foot in size as an adult. The largest is the whale sharks, and they're 65 feet in length," Tunnel said.

Both adults and children can pet the sharks, and there's even a chance to be interactive, even when you leave the museum, thanks to their partnership with the nonprofit organization Ocearch.

"It's an institution that no one owns but everyone owns, and what we try to do is fun amazing research and bring scientists together and then bring it to the public and students together in real time, Fischer said.

They do it through a global shark tracker. The sensor used is a spot tab.

"We put these on these massive sharks, and every time we let them go, for three to five years, every time they put their fin out of the water, the location beams from this tag through a global shark tracker, which the whole world can access online in real time," Fischer said.

This information is used for research on where sharks mate, and where they're giving birth: important information for the future of this species.

There's even a surprising fact about sharks.

"I think they'd be shocked at how massive their ranges are. A white shark like this will utilize nearly all of the western Atlantic Ocean. They'll travel well over 1,000 miles a month," Fischer said.