MENTION sharks and the inevitable happens: you might just think of heart-thumping, sinister music, an abandoned beach and a lone swimmer desperately trying to make a break from the bloodthirsty Great White.

But is this the real picture of a predator that has evolved over 450 million years?

Not at all, according to Paul Kitching, manager of the Natural History Museum at Tring, where a new exhibition, Surprising Sharks, hopes to dispel some of the myths.

"Sharks are captivating creatures with an undeserved bad reputation," says Paul.

"We hope this exhibition makes our visitors realise how incredible sharks are and that some prefer eating plankton to people."

Based on the popular book by Nicola Davies and featuring illustrations by James Croft, Surprising Sharks provides a fascinating insight into the world of sharks.

Visitors can peer inside the jaws of a great white shark, marvel at the chocolate bar-sized pygmy shark and touch shark teeth and skin.

The exhibition also touches upon how humans are actually more of a threat to sharks than they are to us, mainly through overfishing and marine pollution.

Youngsters will also be able to take part in a range of activities running during the school holidays, including making shark sock puppets, fearsome fimo sharks and shark masks.

Surprising Sharks runs at The Natural History Museum, Tring, Akerman Street, until Sunday, July 6. Open Mondays to Saturdays 10am to 5pm, Sundays 2pm to 5pm. Details: 020 7942 6171 or www.nhm.ac.uk/tring