Sharks get a bad rap. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is trying to change that.

The exhibit ``Sharks: Myth and Mystery'' opening Friday explores the ingrained Western fear of sharks as demons of the sea.

``People don't like sharks because we fear them,'' says Jeff Hoke, the aquarium's exhibit designer. ``But people's stories about them also attract us to them. We want to know, are they all dangerous? Are they all monsters?''

The exhibit combines live animal displays with natural history, anthropology and art. Almost two dozen species are on display, including skates and rays, which are related to sharks. The animals were gathered from the aquarium's own collection, borrowed from other marine institutions and captured in the wild.

Visitors can wind their way through seven small galleries, each with its own mood and music, and explore various cultures' relationships to the creatures. The mythology of other cultures reveals a more enlightened view of sharks.

``There's a broader range of images of sharks in countries around the world,'' says Ava Ferguson, exhibit developer. ``People are awestruck, fearful, reverent and respectful of them. We wanted to bring in that full range of emotions.''

Hawaiians created a contemporary hula dance about a legendary shark god Kamohoali'i, who brought volcanoes from Tahiti to Hawaii. In Amazonia, people pass down a folk tale, ``Mother Stingray,'' about a river spirit that punishes fishermen who kill rays. In Africa, coastal peoples wear shark masks for traditional dances in festivals honoring the spirits of sharks and rays. And in northern Australia, the Yolngu people paint shark images on eucalyptus bark depicting stories of sharks helping to create the earth.

In addition to other textiles, paintings and stories from around the world, the exhibit includes a 20,000-gallon coral reef exhibit, a fertile shark egg, a touch pool and a Web shark cam that streams footage of the tropical Galápagos shark, the only one on display outside Hawaii in 20 years, on the aquarium's Web site (www.montereybayaquarium.org). The exhibit cost $2.5 million and took seven months to build.

While the Western fascination with sharks has mostly to do with fear of shark attacks, conservation is also infused into the exhibit's international theme. Although most people see sharks as a threat, it's humans who threaten sharks.

``The real story in sharks is conservation and fishery management, not attacks,'' says George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research. ``Sharks are being captured and killed at an alarming rate around the world.''

Sharks are hunted for their fins in Asia and sold as a pricey food delicacy. They are also caught accidentally by fishermen hunting for other fish, Burgess says. Yet because they grow slowly, reach sexual maturity at a late age and reproduce slowly, their populations are threatened.

``We will always be fascinated with an animal that can do us harm,'' Burgess says. ``Our fascination with sharks and shark attacks is almost genetic. It goes back to our cave-man days when we kept our eyes open for bears and saber-toothed cats. In today's world, we don't face those same risks, but it's an inherent fascination we have with animals that do.''

Organizers expect the sharks exhibit to be on display for at least three years, with the hope that people who knew little more about sharks than ``Finding Nemo'' and ``Jaws'' will come away with a better sense of their important ecological role in the world.

``Sharks have been maligned in our culture,'' says Ken Peterson, aquarium spokesman, ``We hope people will be moved by what they see and that they'll want to do something to protect them.''

Shark facts

Fastest shark: shortfin mako, which can swim 20 mph.

Largest shark: whale shark, which reaches lengths of over 60 feet; it's also the largest fish in the ocean.

Smallest shark: deepwater dogfish shark. Found in the Caribbean, it's less than 8 inches long at maturity.

True class: Sharks and all other fishes belonging to the class chondrichthyes lack true bones and instead have skeletons made from cartilage.

Shark skin: Feels like sandpaper because it's made up of tiny toothlike structures called placoid scales.

National Shark Research Consortium at the University of Florida

Sharks: Myth and Mystery Where Monterey Bay Aquarium; 886 Cannery Row

WhenOpens Friday. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily; summer hours: 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Tickets Included in aquarium general admission: $19.95, $17.95 seniors, $15.95 students with ID, $8.95 children 3-12, free for children under 3.

Information (831) 648-4888,

www.montereybayaquarium.org

SHARK FACTS

Number of non-fatal shark attacks last year worldwide: 51

Number of fatal shark attacks last year worldwide: 4

Number of non-fatal shark attacks in California from 1926 to 2003: 74

Number of fatal shark attacks in California from 1926 to 2003: 6

Number of fatal shark attacks last year in California: 1

Number of shark species: 375