Port Jeff's Long Island Explorium To Have Shark Week Camp In August

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — The Long Island Explorium will have a Shark Week Camp from Aug. 1 to Aug. 5 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and spots are expected to be filled soon.

The explorium hopes to use the camp as an opportunity to discuss some of the recent shark sightings as of late.

“Sharks have been in the news! Now remove the mystery and join our campers as they learn more about our aquatic neighbors during our Shark Week,” the Long Island Explorium said in a statement. “Kids will dive deep into learning about the oceans and the wonders of its deep-sea inhabitants. Broaden their love of science now.”

There were several shark sightings along the Rockaway Peninsula and Long Island the past few weeks, as reported by Patch.

Campers will dive into marine biology as they study oceans, marine environments and coral reefs, according to the explorium, which is located at Port Jeff Harbor at 101 East Broadway.

During the camp week, kids will also learn about the additional sense a shark has besides the five senses. Make discoveries about the largest prehistoric shark that ever lived, examine shark teeth fossils, and make their own fossils, according to Lisa Rodriguez, the director of programming at the explorium.

Children will then learn about how scientists protect and care for sharks and why sharks are important to the ecosystem. They will explore the shoreline and "dive into" information on the local sharks native to Long Island that are more friends than enemies. The campers will become a Marine Life Rescuer by learning the basics of marine mammal rescues and how to rescue and save a shark on the beach. To top it all off, they will pilot a drone to learn how sharks are monitored today with tech, Rodriguez told Patch via email.

Guest speakers and expert educators are also expected at the camp, she added.

Parents who are interested in signing up their kids for the camp, which costs $375, can go to longislandexplorium.org/summer-camp-2022/ to register for it. Patch readers who book the camp get two free admissions tickets to the Long Island Explorium with their registration purchase this week.