Santa Ana, California: Georgette: 16-Foot-Long Shark
Georgette is a 16-foot-long preserved and mounted great white shark. She weighed 3,400 pounds when she got caught in a fishing net. Formerly displayed in a Redondo Beach gift shop, which closed in 2013. Moved to Santa Ana in June 2023.
Discovery Science Center
- Address:
- 2500 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA
- Directions:
- Discovery Science Center. West side of Main St., just south of its intersection with Mainplace Drive.
- Hours:
- Daily 10-5 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 714-542-2823
- Admission:
- Adults $22.
-
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Visitor Tips and News About Georgette: 16-Foot-Long Shark
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Georgette no longer resides in the Balboa Island Fun Zone in Newport Beach. Several months after the Fun Zone was sold to new ownership in June 2021, she was removed from the Ocean Quest building. In June 2023 she will officially be available to view again in her new home in the Orange County Discovery Cube in Santa Ana, California. Rob Harrison, the owner and operator of the Balboa Island Fun Zone, personally oversaw Georgette's safe removal, transportation, and refurbishments to prepare her for her new interactive family-friendly exhibit. The Discovery Cube is currently set to be her permanent home, where she will receive the care she deserves to remain a part of many people's lives for the future of marine conservation, education, and entertainment.
[Natalie J. Fosdick, 04/17/2023]
The Balboa Fun Zone building where Georgette resides will be open to the public again in March. New decor surrounding her has been added since the 2017 update, and she has received two new teeth to replace the ones that were previously stolen. I am privileged to have exclusive access to her building whenever it is closed to the public, so I will update again when changes arise. For now, Georgette remains in Newport Beach, and the sign next to her is still incorrect.
[Natalie Fosdick, 03/05/2019]
Georgette has moved from the Ocean Institute in Dana Point to the Balboa Fun Zone in Newport Beach. She's been there since July 2015. The placard that was placed on the wall beside her has the incorrect year of her death (it says 1979, but it was in 1987) and her time in storage has given her some wear and tear, but she is otherwise in good hands for now.
[Natalie Fosdick, 10/08/2017]The "Shark Attack" gift shop is closed, gone out of business.
[David Kamada, 02/19/2014]The store closed in November 2013 after 25 years in business. The 16-foot-long stuffed shark, Georgette, moved to the Ocean Institute at nearby Dana Point -- the centerpiece of its "Sustainable Seas" exhibit. July 2015: Reported gone from Dana Point, no one knows where...
Redondo Beach pier - last shop on right fork. Sign for shop says: "Home of the great white shark exhibit." Price $1.50. Georgette is in a dark room in back. Nice lesson about sharks in general and Georgette in specific. You have to ask at the front counter to see Georgette. Worth a look if you are in the area.
[Ellis A. Swidgen, 07/11/2012]Nearby Offbeat Places



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Though the sign claims that Georgette died in 1979, she was alive until 1987.