Seville Aquarium has unveiled a new exhibition starring sharks. An experience that invites visitors to shift their perspective: leave myths behind and discover the true importance of these animals in the ocean.
Throughout the visit, guests can encounter nine different shark species and explore their biology, behavior, and ecological importance through an experience designed not just to observe, but to understand.
“With this exhibition, we want the public to start looking at sharks through knowledge rather than fear. They are key species for the health of the oceans, and getting to know them is the first step toward protecting them ” says Rocío Alcázar, General Manager of Seville Aquarium.
From the very start, visitors can test their knowledge through an interactive quiz, which they can repeat at the end of the tour to see what they’ve learned and earn a “Shark Friend” badge—turning the experience into an active learning process.
The route is structured into nine themed areas, offering multiple perspectives on sharks. In the sensory zone, visitors can discover how sharks perceive their environment through their senses, while the evolution area takes them millions of years back in time to meet one of the oldest animals on Earth—whose biology continues to inspire scientific and technological advances today.
“Sharks play a key role in ocean health. Their conservation is essential to maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems ” explains Javier Landa, Curator at Seville Aquarium.
The exhibition also includes spaces dedicated to reproduction, where visitors can observe different types of shark eggs and the young of small-spotted catsharks and nursehounds (whose adults can be seen in the Canary Islands cove tank), as well as feeding, showcasing how their teeth are adapted to different diets.
In the Oceanarium, visitors can observe the aquarium’s largest specimens—such as the sand tiger shark, the grey shark, and the zebra shark—and understand their behavior in a habitat recreated to reflect their natural environment. Here, they can also see a nearly three-meter-wide replica of a megalodon jaw and compare themselves to different shark species using a life-size measuring scale.
A cinematic highlight can be found in the “Shark Dressing Room,” an installation inspired by the world of film that challenges the distorted image historically projected onto these animals, inviting visitors to rediscover them from a more accurate perspective.
Not all the aquarium’s sharks are large—there are also smaller species that play a vital role in the ecosystem, such as the horn shark, which can be seen on the second floor alongside larger species like the bamboo shark, the short-tail nurse shark, and the tawny nurse shark.
The conservation dimension is especially highlighted in the mangrove area, where several shark conservation projects carried out in Spain and at the aquarium are presented. Through interactive games, visitors can also learn how small actions can contribute to the protection of these species.
“We want every visitor to leave with a clear idea: sharks are not a threat—they are essential. Changing that perception is key to advancing their conservation ” emphasizes Susana Montero, Head of Education at Seville Aquarium.
To conclude the experience, visitors can symbolically become a shark through a final photo opportunity, joining a community committed to protecting sharks and the ocean.
With this exhibition, Seville Aquarium reinforces its role as a center for scientific outreach and conservation, bringing the public closer to a reality that is often overlooked: without sharks, the ocean loses its balance—and with it, an essential part of life on Earth.