High-tech exhibit takes a bite out of myths

Among the things you'll learn at the Georgia Aquarium: You're more likely to be injured by a toilet seat than a shark.

One gallery holds wall bubbles containing the wicked-looking jawbones of five species found along the Carolina coast.

MELISSA PROSSER / PWP STUDIO/MCT

GOING TO ATLANTA

• Getting there: A number of airlines fly nonstop from South Florida to Atlanta, a trip just over two hours. Roundtrip airfare starts around $140.

• The aquarium: ``Planet Shark'' runs through September at the Georgia Aquarium, 25 Baker St. NW Atlanta. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. Saturday. Admission $31.50; $26.25 for 65 and older; $23.50 for ages 3-12. 404-581-4000; www.georgiaaquarium.org.

• Atlanta information: The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, 404-521-6600;www.atlanta.net.

WHERE TO STAY

• The Ellis, which dates to 1913 (although under other names and ownership), opened in 2007 after a $26.8 million renovation. It is a distinctly modern space with a bold personality and is a few blocks south of the aquarium. 176 Peachtree St. NW; www.ellishotel.com ; 404-523-5155 or 866-841-8822. Rooms from $179.

• The Georgian Terrace: Another recently renovated historic building, this Midtown Atlanta hotel has 326 rooms and a rooftop swimming pool. It is about a mile north of the aquarium. 659 Peachtree St. NE; 800-651-2316;www.thegeorgianterrace.com . Rooms from $168.

• Hotel Indigo is a former Days Inn refashioned as a boutique hotel close to the High Museum of Art and about a mile north of the aquarium. 683 Peachtree St. NE; 404-874-9200 or 800-972-2404; www.hotelindigo.com . Rooms from $129.

WHERE TO EAT

• Two Urban Licks features what it describes as fiery American food and others call a fusion of New Orleans and Southwest fare. Creative selection of small plates as well as traditional-size entrees. 820 Ralph McGill Blvd.; 404-522-4622;www.twourbanlicks.com . Entrees, $19-$28.

• Colonnade: This meat-and-three Southern-cooking restaurant has operated more than 80 years and still packs in the crowds. 1879 Cheshire Bridge Rd.; 404-874-5642; www.colonnadeatl.com; entrees $9-$22; Early Bird Menu, $11-$13.

• Highland Bakery has its roots in a few coffee carts, then a bakery. Now it is a café serving big Southern breakfasts and lunches. 655 Highland Ave. NE; www.highlandbakery.com; 404-586-0772; breakfast entrees $3.95-$12.95; sandwiches and salads $5.95-$10.95.

ATLANTA -- Ah, summer -- the perfect time for tourist dining at the beach.

At least that's what the shark thinks.

Or does it?

Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium currently covers this and other toothsome subjects in Planet Shark: Predator or Prey, an elaborate 14-gallery traveling exhibition created in Australia. The Atlanta showing, its world debut, continues through September.

Planet Shark is an out-of-water exhibit that includes interactive computers, films and actual-size, cast-from-life replicas.

After an hour or so at Planet Shark, check out the 70 live ones in the aquarium's permanent collection.

You'll know by then that they've evolved little since their prehistoric heyday and have always been extremely efficient killing machines. Also, that while attacks on humans are rare, fatalities are rarer still. You'll learn sharks can sniff you from a mile away and can also detect vibrations, as well as a body's electrical impulses.

There's nothing charming about them. The curiosity-plus-fear that pulls you through the entrance never goes away.

Is Planet Shark suitable for kids? Yes, if they're old enough for Jaws (especially if they enjoy Steven Spielberg's famous flick; some artifacts and footage from the 1975 release are on display).

One documentary is about a woman who loves to dive with bull sharks in the Bahamas. Another is about a New Zealand couple who continue to dive in shark-infested waters after the man lost his forearm to one. Another video tells the story of Australian Rodney Fox, who was attacked by a 16-foot great white. His injuries required 400 stitches; his ripped wet suit is on display. (Fox is one of the organizers of Planet Shark.)

The high-tech aspects kick in early, at amazing touch-screen computer consoles the size of small jukeboxes. They're programmed to cover the basics about the eight orders of modern-day sharks (only three of the 350-plus species present any significant danger to humans), as well as the evolution of the shark.

Use the buttons to access text- and computer-generated images of the fish. The technology lets you rotate the drawings, roll the sharks over and also make them swim.

Especially cool are seven incredibly strange extinct sharks, like the helicoprion, a 15-footer with a spiraled lower jaw.

Some of the still-around sharks have their own peculiarities -- such as the green sawfish, which has teeth on its nose. Or the deep-water, cookie-cutter shark, whose belly glows in the dark.

The monitors edge a room filled with a four tabletop display cases of shark fossils and modern bones. A timeline puts the pieces in perspective. It also notes the first recorded shark attack on a human was in 1580, when a Portuguese sailor fell overboard on a voyage to the Indies.

By this time, you've passed placards with factoids pointing out the unlikelihood of your coming to a gruesome end. Out by the 20-foot great white replica, for instance, it notes that in 1996, only 20 Americans were injured by sharks -- while 44,000 were injured in mishaps with toilet seats.

The second gallery holds wall bubbles containing the wicked-looking jawbones of five species found along the Carolina coast -- and your mortality odds. Shortfin mako: Chances of an attack are no greater than 1 in 93 million (you're 10 times more likely to be killed by a sand hole collapsing at the beach).

Blue shark: You're 700 times more likely to be killed in a plane crash.

Dusky whaler: You're 30 times more likely to be killed in a train crash.

Great hammerhead: In the United States, you're 200 times more likely to be killed by a deer.

These species, according to exhibit text, account for a mere 10 confirmed kills. But reassuring stats fade when you reach the room holding eight life-size shark replicas -- each as large as a kayak. They're compared in a ``Battle of the Jaws'' data matchup, where the great white (437 attacks, 64 kills) easily beats the orca (12 attacks, four kills).

In short order, you'll view the Rodney Fox interview video and see his chewed-up wet suit. Then you come to the video where Mike Frasier tells how a shark made off with his arm.

You find yourself in a saltwater limbo, darting between reassuring data and gruesome Down Under anecdotes about what divers there call ``shacks.'' You may not acquire galeophobia (fear of sharks), but you will be glad you're not a small and tasty fish.