What do you do when one of the world’s biggest sharks needs a spa day?

Everyone has heard about Megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived. This toothy creature once roamed the seas and grew as big as 60 feet long! Despite the rumors and movies, scientists are sure the species Carcharocles megalodon is extinct.

a large metal sculpture in the exhibit shaped like a very large shark
Guests can walk through full-scale jaws into a 60-foot-long Megalodon sculpture in the exhibit. Florida Museum photo by Kristen Grace

Back in 2008, we built an exhibit to give people a real idea just how big this shark was, including a full-size Megalodon sculpture visitors can walk through. More than 20 museums across the U.S. and Canada have hosted this traveling exhibit, and over 1.5 million guests have visited it to learn more about this fantastic fish!

Every so often exhibits need a little face-lift, some fixing up and updating. In 2014 we had the chance to give it a quick touch-up and refresh, but this winter we brought Megalodon home for a complete refurbishing. Our team updated older components and content, and replaced graphics so it’s all bright and fresh.

Just last week we packed the exhibit into its huge crates and loaded them onto the truck. The exhibit is heading to its 25th venue, new and improved. Next stop for “Megalodon: Largest Shark That Ever Lived” is the Science Spectrum in Lubbock, Texas.

View four Megalodon jaws from 30- to 60-foot-long sharks! Florida Museum photo by Kristen Grace
How do you measure up? This great photo op lets you measure yourself against sharks. Florida Museum photo by Kristen Grace
Touch a full set of 46 Megalodon teeth in this exhibit! Florida Museum photo by Kristen Grace
Museum crew members load the exhibit crates onto a truck to ship it to Texas. Florida Museum photo by Jeff Gage
Large custom-built crates make sure all of the exhibit components are shipped safely and efficiently between venues. Florida Museum photo by Jeff Gage

More: