Meredith Public Library plans shark week activities

MEREDITH — The staff of the Meredith Public Library recently designated July 20-27 as Meredith Shark Week.  They’ve created several events for the public to celebrate sharks.

Meredith Shark Week begins on Saturday, July 20, at 11 a.m. with the first event titled Hooked on Sharks: Dr. Furey Explores Sharks in NH Waters and Their Biology.  Dr. Nathan Furey, an assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of New Hampshire, will be sharing lots of facts about sharks. He will bring hands-on props such as shark jaws and tracking technology that researchers use on all sorts of fish.  The professor will also explain how researchers detect tagged white sharks off NH beaches in Rye and Hampton.  His presentation will include visuals on the library’s large flat screen TV.  Furey will also discuss why scientists are certain the megalodon is extinct.

On Thursday, July 25, from 6-7:30 p.m. with a program titled Working with Sharks in Film Production and Conservation.  Multi-talented Liz Parkinson will call in from Los Angeles via Zoom in the library Function Room to talk about her international career, accomplishments, and working with sharks in film and TV production. She will share photos and stories of her underwater adventures where she comes face-to-face with sharks as they interact with her. Parkinson is a Hollywood underwater stunt performer, freediver (who can dive to 150 feet and hold her breath underwater for six minutes without SCUBA gear), competitive swimmer, shark wrangler and ocean conservationist.

Conquer the Deep: Escape Room will be available on Tuesday, July 23, through Thursday, July 25.  Library staff put together this multi-media, live action experience suitable for the whole family.

The escape room is located inside the library where librarians have decorated one of the front historic rooms like an ocean submersible.  Participants are researchers from Sea Base Atlantic who have become trapped in their submersible at the bottom of the ocean.  They have 60 minutes to solve a series of puzzles and riddles to escape before the submersible is destroyed.

Attendees must schedule their sessions in advance by calling the library at 603-279-4303.

Meredith Shark Week concludes with a double dose of shark movie fun on Saturday, July 27.  Showing at 9:30 a.m. will be the original summer blockbuster, “Jaws.”  Based on Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel of the same name and one of Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg’s first movies, “Jaws” (rated PG) tells the story of small New England beach community under attack by a great white shark.

At 11:30 a.m., the chomping continues with a more modern blockbuster shark movie, “The Meg” (rated PG-13), which stars Jason Statham as a rescue diver who comes face to face with a megalodon – a prehistoric and largest-ever shark long thought to be extinct.

Both movies will be shown in the library Function Room on the large flat screen TV.  Admission for the movies is free and there will also be popcorn and movie candy available at no charge, courtesy of the Friends of the Meredith Library.

For more information, visit meredithlibrary.org.