Exploration Place hosts National Geographic’s ‘Monster Fish’ exhibit

There’s something very fishy with Exploration Place’s new summer exhibition.

“Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants” — an interactive traveling exhibition based on the popular Nat Geo WILD TV series “Monster Fish “ — opens Friday, May 28, and will be on display until Monday, Sept. 6, at Wichita’s science center. It’s one of two traveling exhibitions Exploration Place is hosting this summer; the other is the youngster-oriented “Paw Patrol: Adventure Play.”

While young visitors were busy saving the day with the pack of pups from the Nick Jr. TV series “Paw Patrol” earlier this week, Exploration Place’s education manager Victoria Mitchell and Patrick Ross, a Southwestern College biology professor who specializes in fish behavior, were excited to share a preview of what lurked in the gallery where “Monster Fish” displays were still being assembled earlier this week.

A giant floating stingray hovers above the entrance to the new exhibition, one of the first National Geographic exhibitions that Exploration Place has hosted.

A six-minute film will introduce visitors to Zeb Hogan, a University of Nevada-Reno, aquatic biologist, and his “Monster Fish” show. For the series, Hogan traveled the world in search of mega-sized fish, listening to the tales of local fishermen, sharing the culture and highlighting some of the world’s unusual giant fish, some of which are dwindling in numbers.

“All the continents are represented, except Antarctica,” Mitchell said. More than 20 species of enormous freshwater fish are part of the exhibition.

Some mega-fish can even be found in Kansas.

“There may be some lurking just outside the door of the museum,” Ross said, since the museum is located on the west bank of the Arkansas River near downtown Wichita.

He was referring to the gar species, a “wicked-looking” fish with a long, narrow jaw that has super-sharp teeth. Paddlefish, another prehistoric species like the gar and sturgeon, can also be found in Kansas, with the largest ever caught in the state weighing in at 114 pounds. Just last month, fishermen in Michigan captured a 240-pound lake sturgeon estimated to be about 100 years old. All three species are included in the exhibition.

Along with life-sized sculptures of fish, the exhibition also includes interactive and game-like displays for visitors to learn about how fish grow, how scientists study them with tagging and tracking, conservation practices like catch and release, and even the impact of how everyday activities such as producing chocolate or using electronics can deplete the water supplies where fish live.

One display uses a pinball-game concept, where the player maneuvers a silver marble through an obstacle course to find better habitats.

Visitors can experience a bit of the adventure in seeking monster fish through a couple of the displays, including a model Nat Geo boat.

The “Monster Fish” exhibition made its debut at the National Geographic Museum in 2015. The TV series ran on Nat Geo WILD from 2009 to 2018.

‘Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants’ exhibition

What: one of two summer traveling exhibitions at Exploration Place

Where: 300 N. McLean Blvd., Wichita

When: now through Sept. 6; hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Friday-Sunday and until 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Admission: all-exhibit tickets are $11.50 for ages 12-64, $10 for ages 65 and older, $8 for ages 3-11, free for members and ages 2 and younger. Upgrades to include dome theater admission available.

More info: 316-660-0600 or exploration.org

This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 4:11 AM.