SharkStuff:Live! Success in Devon
26th August 2018 | by Georgia FrenchDorset, we have something to tell you...We've been seeing other counties.
We just ran our second batch of SharkStuff:Live! events at Seaton Jurassic Centre, for the Devon Wildlife Trust. Feedback from our first sessions there has our hearts bursting.
What is SharkStuff:Live! ?
SharkStuff:Live! is the ultimate public engagement experience and is an event for all ages, combining a talk that covers:
- Shark biology
- Threats sharks face
- Perception changing myth busting
- UK sharks
- What we can do to help sharks
with a live demonstration dissection of a shark caught as bycatch in a local fishery.
We also bring in a collection of our research equipment, teeth and jaws, eggcases and leaflets produced by the Shark Trust.
“I’ve learnt a lot about sharks and so have my children – it has taken away some of the fear they had about sharks.”
Why the dissection?
Getting close to sharks in the UK is not an easy feat for the general public. Seeing one up close and personal and learning about its incredible anatomy live is a fascinating experience that is once in a lifetime for many. We first realised the potential of dissections as an educational tool after seeing how well they were received at events run by the Gill’s Club – an education initiative of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy that Dr. French was invited to participate in.
Firstly, the dissection is a big attraction, providing something that’s definitely different! Not only does this help to spark interest, it’s a great educational method that engages a wider audience than a talk by itself. Once the dissection is finished, we invite any interested participants to don a glove and get REALLY up close and personal. This experience is a key part of dispelling people’s fear, instead turning it into fascination.
Feedback
We first ran SharkStuff:Live! events at Seaton Jurassic in May, and they were so popular that we were invited back last Friday. We’ve just received the written feedback from the last set of sessions and we couldn’t be more delighted to share it:
Did you enjoy the event today?
If YES, Please tell us what in particular you enjoyed:
- Yes: Learning about all the different sharks and watching the disection
- Yes: Information was great
- Yes: The talk was excellent.
- Yes: Interesting talk and rare to be able to see a dissection!
Did you learn something at the event you attended today?
- Yes: More about shark anatomy and the native species.
- Yes: Lots! ….about sharks
- Yes: Dissection taught a lot about anatomy of a shark
- Yes: About the different sharks, about sharks on our coasts, what sharks can digest
How has this event benefitted you?
- It was a great talk and my son learnt a lot more about sharks.
- Kids got to see dissection.
- I’ve learnt a lot about sharks and so have my children – it has taken away some of the fear they had about sharks.
- Greatly, my son and myself thoroughly enjoyed the event. It gave me and my eldest son an event to do together and learn lots of new things at the same time about something he loves.
- It’s given my son a better knowledge of how sharks live and function.