Oct

Today in Smithsonian History: October 12, 1985

A fiberglass reconstruction of the jaws of an extinct 40-foot long shark, bearing one row of real fossil teeth in the front and several rows of plastic replica teeth behind, for the exhibition “Fossils: The History of Life” at the National Museum of Natural History. Pictured (in front) is Walter Houck, Exhibits Central Graphics Production Lab; (left to right) Clayton Ray, paleontologist; Walter Sorrell and Mike Freillo, GPL, Ian MacIntyre, Deb Bennet and Robert Purdy, paleontolgists. (Photo by Chip Clark, as featured in the Torch, October 1985)

October 12, 1985 The permanent exhibition Shark! opens in the fossil hall of the National Museum of Natural History. The exhibition features the jaws of Carcharodon megalodon, the colossal ancestor of the modern great white shark.

Can’t get enough about sharks? Visit Sant Ocean Hall at that National Museum of Natural History or explore Ocean Portal.

The Sant Ocean hall at the National Museum of Natural History combines 674 marine specimens and models, high-definition video experiences, one-of-a kind exhibits and the newest technology to allow visitors to explore the ocean’s past, present and future as never before.
A full-scale model of a real North Atlantic right whale has become the iconic image of the Sant Ocean Hall. Measuring in at 45 feet and 2,300 pounds, the model is not only impressive in size, but in scientific accuracy as an exact replica of Phoenix, an actual whale that exists in the wild today. (Photo by John Steiner)

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives