Not Your Grandma's Petting Zoo

Sometimes kids can be so frustrating that parents might want to throw them to the sharks. Well, on July 29th and 30th they'll get the chance to do just that. In celebration of Shark Week, the Adventure Aquarium is hosting a unique event at its Delaware Waterfront location.

Breakfast With the Sharks serves up a hot buffet breakfast from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM, followed by a scavenger hunt, a 'meet and greet' with aquarium mascot Chum (not to be confused with the mixture of fish parts and blood that is used to attract, well, sharks, and goes by the same name) and the main event: a hands-on visit with all sorts of sharks.

Also, we're not entirely certain what a 40-foot shark tunnel entails (we have fond memories of 1999's Deep Blue Sea) but it sounds really cool. And if that's not enough for you, how about over half a million gallons of shark-infested aquarium water? Phillyist thinks the game show they'll be producing for the children, "Fish Factor," is a bit over the top, considering it will be hosted by (and we quote) "Bob Sharker and Briny Seacrest."

We wonder how many kids are going to get up that early in the morning, but we suppose the idea of petting sharks may just be appealing enough to the more daring members of the twelve-and-under crowd, especially kids who haven't seen the aforementioned (and, need we say, awesome!) shark movie yet. Plus, kids under twelve are eligible for a Shark Week surprise (while kids twelve-and-over stand in a corner and scowl menacingly at their younger, surprise-wielding brethren and plan their sweet feed-the-rugrats-to-the-sharks revenge) .

We just hope the surprise is that no one gets eaten alive.

In all seriousness, though, we assume that an event involving children and hands-on shark education will be properly supervised and that safety will be guaranteed (guests will apparently be sprayed with special "shark repellent").

So, if you like getting up early to seize the day, eating a delicious breakfast and introducing yourself and your children to finely-tuned (but still somehow cute) killing machines (presented in a safe and well-supervised, hopefully revenge-free environment), Adventure Aquarium is looking forward to your visit.

Registration is currently open but spots are limited and available on a first come, first serve basis, so hurry.

Breakfast With the Sharks, Presented by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Adventure Aquarium (Aquarium Drive, Camden NJ)
Sat and Sun, 7/28 and 7/29/07, 8:30AM-9:30AM
Adults $38, Children $32
Click Here to Register or call 856-365-3300 x7380.

Hopefully, at the end of the day, the humans will be the only ones with full bellies...

Image courtesy Adventure Aquarium.