Dive into Shark Week!

Grab your coworkers, family, and friends, and dive into the action at Brewster Street Icehouse Downtown on Thursday, July 11, from 6-9 p.m. to watch our Shark Week episode.

The free community event includes a special meet and greet with our shark researchers, shark-tagging demonstrations, interactive booths, and shark-themed giveaways.

Unleash your creativity by participating in a Shark Week decoration contest! Deck out your office or workspace in the best shark-themed decor. Prizes will be awarded for the most jaw-some displays. Decorating will begin Wednesday, June 26, and must be complete by Wednesday, July 3. Judging will be held July 5-8.

Congratulations to our Shark Week Decorating Contest Winners!

1^st Place- Research and Innovation- $250 catering credit and Shark Week swag

2^nd Place- College of Nursing and Health Sciences- $100 catering credit and Shark Week swag

3^rd Place- Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center- Shark Week Swag Gift Basket

*A representative from the Shark Week Committee will be reaching out to winners with prize information.

Du dun, du dun, du-dun du-dun du-dun, it’s Shark Week!! Trust your Bell Library to have a book display ready and waiting with a variety of print books about sharks. All books are available for check out at no charge with your valid SandDollar$ ID.

On Tuesday, July 2, from 10 a.m. to noon, La Palmera Mall will host a Tide Turners Kids Club event featuring Shark Week crafts, HRI researchers, and a visit from Izzy. The event will take place on the Upper Level near the Undersea Adventure children’s play area.

• All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to get into the spirit by dressing up in shark-themed clothing throughout Shark Week. Whether it’s a shark hat, a fin-tastic shirt, or a full costume, let’s all make a splash and celebrate Shark Week in style! 
• Visit Center Court at La Palmera Mall for shark and Islander-themed photo opps, plus an opportunity to win a Shark Week Prize pack.
• Stop by the Bell Library for shark-themed coloring pages, puzzles, cootie catchers, and more!
• Visit Bell Library to pick up shark-related bookmarks and buttons that were designed in celebration of Shark Week.

Search for your own Miocene age shark’s teeth and other marine fossils in the I-Create Fossil Pit! You may discover the remains of ancient sharks, whales, bony fish, and coral, just to name a few.  The fossiliferous material is from the Pliocene Yorktown and Miocene Pungo River Formations. The pit is open July 8-12, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the I-Create Lab, on the second floor of the Bell Library.

How’s your sense of balance? Are you afraid of the fall? Test your nerve in the Immersive Reality Lab on the second floor of the Mary and Jeff Bell Library on Wednesday, July 8, and Friday, July 12, from 1-3 p.m. as they host a high adrenaline come-and-go activity that includes an immersive and mesmerizing experience with grey nurse sharks at Fish Rock Cave off Australia’s Eastern Coastline.

Don’t miss our shark-themed employee Break in the Day, complete with shark-themed snacks and giveaways. The come-and-go event allows faculty and staff to mix, mingle, and recharge amidst the excitement of Shark Week. Break in the Day will be held on Wednesday, July 10, from 12:30-3 p.m. in the University Center, Anchor Ballroom. All faculty and staff are encouraged to get into the spirit by dressing up in shark-themed clothing/accessories for Break in the Day. Let’s all make a splash and celebrate Shark Week in style!

Celebrate the work of Islander Katie Gheysen ’25, a 2024 NSF Graduate Research Fellow! Learn about the award and Katie’s research, which focuses on juvenile shark and ray habitat use in coastal southern Texas. Her previous projects revolved around depth behavior in Shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus) in the Western North Atlantic Ocean.

The celebration, which includes a Q&A session and refreshments, will be held on Thursday, July 11, at 2 p.m. on the second floor of the Bell Library, near Special Collections.

On Friday July 12, at 11:30 a.m., Harte Research Institute scientists will take over the “Let’s Talk Sharks!” show at the Aquarium’s H-E-B Caribbean Sea exhibit with Shark Week star Dr. Kesley Banks ’19 as presenter. Additional scientists and students with HRI’s Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation will be on hand with an educational booth to share more about their shark tagging research.