For one week, the Visualization Studio will go underwater for an immersive, up-close look at the beautiful and endangered sand tiger shark, with help from Spot A Shark USA, a citizen-science program focused on sand tiger shark research along the Atlantic coast.

Carol Seals Price is an instructor and undergraduate research mentor at NC State, the conservation research coordinator at the North Carolina Aquariums and the project manager for Spot A Shark USA. Scuba divers photograph the sand tiger sharks they encounter and post their images to the Spot A Shark USA website. Price’s team of aquarium scientists and NC State students then use Wildbook software to map the unique spot patterns visible along the sides of the photographed sharks to identify individual animals.

Be sure to also check out the Why Sharks Matter Book Launch with David Shiffman.