Shark invasion

LYNN – Girls Inc. girls were schooled in the lives of sharks Monday when the New England Aquarium brought its educational roadshow to the High Street organization.”I think sharks are amazing and scary,” said 9-year-old Lizbeth Mesa.Sponsored by National Grid, the hands-on program gave the girls a chance to examine shark anatomy, including jaw bones and skin, to see and hear like a shark, and discover a shark’s secret sixth sense.”What do sharks have that we don’t?” asked aquarium educator Samantha Salfity while standing before a 15-foot inflatable shark.Salfity, along with aquarium educator Michael Trumbower, intern Michelle Yee and director of education John Anderson, took the girls through a series of stations to teach them about all things shark.Nalisia Mazariegos, 9, and Briana Schulze, 11, donned what appeared to be simple black sunglasses and tried to read a shark eye chart, a mixture of letters and tiny silhouetted sea creatures, from several feet away. Yee explained that the glasses were created to mimic a shark’s vision.”It’s really blurry,” explained Schulze. “I was surprised. I thought they would be able to see everything clearly but not really.”Mazariegos said she thought sharks were “very cool” and that she liked their shape, but she also admitted she does not swim in the ocean, “ever.”Trumbower explained that a shark’s extra special sense is that it can detect electricity.”They can sense the electricity in your muscles,” he said.When Salfity asked the girls if people are on sharks’ menu, she got a chorus of no’s and a lot of giggles. She said it is that kind of misinformation she hopes the girls will help straighten out. She urged the girls to share what they learned with their friends and family.”People hear the word shark and it’s a little intimidating,” she said. “But these stations help us to learn about sharks, and the more you learn, the less intimidating they are.”Trumbower said another myth is that sharks are huge and scary creatures when in fact 85 percent of all sharks are under six feet long.”Sharks don’t really want to be around us,” he added.But some of the girls said they wouldn’t mind being around them.Remily Gonzales, 9, said if she saw a shark at the beach she’d take a picture of it.”I’ve always wanted a lemon shark,” she said. “I saw one on TV. It was just a little baby one. I’d like to see a grown one.””I wish I was a shark,” claimed 9-year-old Daileny Torres.Marcy Reed, president of National Grid, said dropping in on programs such as the shark exhibit is the best part of her job. Pushing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs is also important to the company that provides electricity and gas throughout the region, she said.Reed said her company has longstanding partnerships with both Girls Inc. and the New England Aquarium, so it seemed only natural to bring the two together.”We’re really quite strategic in our partnerships. We need to make sure we have the workforce for the future,” she said, right after urging all the girls to call her for a job in a few years time.