Sharks in coastal waters may conjure up fearsome images of “Jaws,” but SeaWorld San Diego is about to debut a reimagined underwater attraction that the marine park hopes will dispel myths about the long-misunderstood aquatic species.

In what is the single largest upgrade of its 34-year-old Shark Encounter, SeaWorld will reopen the attraction May 22 with what the park is calling a far more immersive experience.

While much of the basic infrastructure — including an acrylic-enclosed shark tunnel with a moving walkway that allows for a 180-degree view of dozens of sharks — remains the same, there are multiple new features to entice park visitors, like an immersive room with LED screens projecting National Geographic-like footage of sharks filmed in the wild around the world. SeaWorld likens the experience to the LED room in its Jewels of the Sea attraction that brings to life various shapes and sizes of jellyfish.

“We’ve really refreshed the inside of the habitat, which is really exciting, but we’re really focused on making sure that we’re emphasizing how important sharks are to the marine ecosystems and really dispelling the myths that sharks are aggressive,” said Danielle Castillo, zoological curator of aquariums at SeaWorld San Diego.

“So we share a lot about how many different species there are because there’s over 500 different species of sharks, but really, a lot of people only focus on the big ones like the white sharks, the bull sharks, tiger sharks, things like that.”

The decades-old attraction has been closed since last September when its more than 30 inhabitants were relocated elsewhere in the park. There will still be about 30 or more sharks as before, but new to the Shark Encounter will be sandbar sharks, a species that was never before in the existing attraction, Castillo said. Among the 11 different species on exhibit will be sand tiger sharks, blacktip reef sharks and the endangered Australian leopard shark.

SeaWorld and its parent company, United Parks & Resorts, would not reveal the cost of the attraction upgrade, but park spokesperson Tracy Spahr characterized it as a “sizable” investment.

One new key feature is what Castillo calls a feeding deck where park visitors can, for a still undisclosed fee, can get much closer to the sharks and safely feed them, with park aquarists present. The behind-the-scenes experience will give participants  a much more intimate view of how the sharks are fed, and visitors will also learn about shark behavior and diet, and the critical role they play in the ocean environment.

Yet another new addition is located within the attraction’s already existing tide pool, which has long been home to reef fishes. It now will have a waterfall and a surge pump that will mimic the way the water ebbs and flows in the ocean, Castillo said.

“So guests will get a peek into that habitat where they weren’t able to in the past. It was all rock work there before, and now they’ll get a really nice view of those reef fishes, which are also really important to the ecosystem.”

The upgraded entrance to the Shark Encounter is framed by lush foliage that opens onto a coastal beach scene. Before moving through the exhibit to the tunnel, park visitors will be able to observe the sharks from above.

Above all else, Castillo says, is SeaWorld’s mission of conservation.

“One of the things that we are really proud of is our involvement in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the species survival programs,” she said. “Our zebra sharks are part of this rewilding program, and hopefully, in the future, we’ll be able to send some of the embryos of our sharks to Indonesia to help with the wild populations there. So that’s really near and dear to our hearts and something that we’re really proud of.”