Mega Trip Report- Pa\rt 6-Georgia Aquarium- PHOTOS POSTED

[cassie_KY]

On July 5th, Nathan and I had originally planned to go to Six Flags Over Georgia. When we got up that morning, gray skies and a near 100% chance of rain made us change our mind. We had been talking about different options, and we turned to each other and said. “Let’s go to the Aquarium!” Nathan and I have several fish tanks and love our fishy friends. Billed as the world’s largest aquarium with 8 million gallons of water, it was a perfect choice for us.

We arrived at the aquarium around 11:00.The place was busy, but not so packed that you couldn’t move around. We had read that a display of Titanic exhibits was also at the aquarium. Excited, we purchased tickets for the aquarium and for the Titanic exhibit. We received a map and headed inside.

We were impressed immediately! The main area soars upward with jumbotron screens and an American flag that changes color. The different areas of the aquarium spread out from this main room like spokes on a wheel.

Our first stop was the Titanic exhibit. Here is a description of the exhibit from the Aquarium’s website:

“Georgia Aquarium invites you to experience the mysterious, tragic story of one of the most famous ships in history through the new Titanic Aquatic. This new Titanic exhibition brings to life the story of the fated Titanic through authentic artifacts and hands-on interactive experiences.

Ninety-six years ago, Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage and on the dark night of April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg. Nearly two hours and forty minutes later, the entirety of this grand ship lay beneath the icy waters if the Atlantic Ocean. The media frenzy surrounding Titanic’s famous victims, the legends about what happened on board the ship and the discovery of the wreck in 1985 gave contributed to Titanic’s mysterious legacy.”

When you enter the exhibit, you are given a card. This card gives a brief description of a passenger on Titanic. I was a wife heading home to her family while Nathan was a wealthy businessman coming home from a business trip.

We traveled from room to room (Sorry, they did not let us use cameras!). Rooms were decorated to resemble the different passenger classes. I was surprised to find out first class had running water. Pieces of furniture, toiletries, and dishes were under glass with signs depicting what they were and when they were found.

Progressing through the exhibit, we learned how passengers spent their days and how Titanic met her fate.

They had a huge iceberg that you could touch. So many people had touched in the same place that handprints several inches deep were on it.

A simulator game was set up to let guests try to steer Titanic around the iceberg. I tried my best and still failed. After the simulation was done, it tells you it was an impossible challenge.

The last display they had was quite depressing. In a dimly lit room, glass cases protected articles of clothing, letters, and photos. One display was a leather case of perfume. When it was pulled up from the ocean bottom, scientists said they could still smell the fragrance.

What really bothered me were large letters posted on the walls. They described how passengers were saved or how they died. Couples refused to leave each other, mothers tucked their children into bed, while others made their way to the front of the line and were lowered into a black night.

Remember the cards we received when we entered the exhibit? A passenger list was posted and stated who were saved and who didn't see dawn. My person lived while Nathan's succumbed.

This was a wonderful exhibit, but I would not take younger children due to it being more of a historical lesson than children's entertainment.

Now it was time to start the tour of the aquarium proper. When we entered, we asked a staff member the best way to tackle the aquarium and they suggested to start at "River Scout" and work in a circle from one area to another.

River Scout is an area dedicated to creatures that inhabit the rivers of Africa, South America, Asia, and Georgia. Some highlights are an emerald grean boa, poisonous dart frogs, and American Alligators. A display was set up for electric fish like eels and elephant nose fish. We also saw a family of otters playing. A highlight for this area is an overhead river that we could walk under.

The Georgia Experience was next. This area specialized in fish that could be found in Georgia. Lionfish greeted us first. Several touch tanks allowed visitors to touch horseshoe crabs, sharks, sea urchins, and starfish. We saw a sea turtle and an example of fish that inhabit a reef off the coast of Georgia. There was a touch tank with shrimp. We found this area to be very noisy as there were several children’s play areas.

My favorite section of the aquarium was the Cold Water Quest. We got to see such odd-looking animals as weedy sea dragons (looked like a sea horse), Japanese spider crabs, and a baby giant Pacific octopus. I loved the beluga whales. Since I was little, these white whales (not to be confused with Moby Dick!) have fascinated me. The aquarium has three of them. Let me tell you, these guys were hams. They knew they were being watched and would do trick after trick to provide that “perfect picture” for us. Another exhibit in the area were sea lions. We spent time trying to get their photo, but they moved to quickly!

Ocean Voyage is the star attraction at the aquarium. It is touted as the largest single tank that holds the most species of fish in the world. The exhibit was specially designed to house whale sharks, the largest fish species in the world. The tank contains more than six million gallons of saltwater. There are 4,574 square feet of viewing windows, a 100-foot-long underwater tunnel, 185 tons of acrylic windows and the second largest viewing window in the world at 23 feet tall by 61 feet wide and 2 feet thick. The window is broken into different parts and each part weighs 20 tons.

We spent the most time at this exhibit. We went from window to window and stared at the fish swimming just in front of our eyes. Predators and prey fish swam together creating a swirling mass of life I had never seen the likes of before. Nana is a huge manta ray and there was no missing this creature that had a wingspan bigger than a car. The aquarium stated that it is the only manta ray ever kept in an aquarium in the United States. We also watched divers swim with the sharks. We read through the book and found that this was something aquarium guests can sign up for. Not sure we want to swim with the sharks, but it was entertaining to watch others have an experience of a lifetime!

The last section we visited was the Tropical Diver. The area is a series of tanks that depict life undersea. We saw seahorses, jellyfish, and Nemo! The highlight of this exhibit is similar to Ocean Voyage. A viewing gallery holds one of the largest reef exhibits of any aquarium in the world. Hundreds of rainbow-colored fish darted amongst the reef. The longer we looked, different fish caught our eye. We really enjoyed pointing out the fish that we saw when we were diving in Cozumel. To give a more realistic effect, the tank had a wave crashing overhead every five minutes.

With only a half hour until closing, we headed to the gift shop and purchased a magnet, patch, Christmas ornament, and postcard.

Overall, we found the Georgia Aquarium to be a wonderful way to spend the day. We were there for seven hours and could have spent several more as we would have liked to have seen some exhibits twice.

We attended the Aquarium on a Sunday and found the crowds to be heavy. We had to wait on many occasions to get our chance to view particular areas. During the school year or on non-holiday weekends, I would hope the crowds weren’t as heavy.

For those attending the Aquarium, we suggest you eat before or after. While the food in the café is very good and offers healthy options like salads, wraps and fruit, it is quite expensive. Three dollars for a bottled soft drink and seven dollars for a chicken wrap is too expensive. We saw several families purchasing food and I could not imagine how much it must have cost them. If you have to have something to eat, the portions are large enough to share or get a snack to tide you over.

One thing we missed were the penguins. Remodeling had caused their habitat to be moved to an area that was not accessible to the public.

The new attraction for next year is dolphins. We definitely plan to come back in the future and see how the Aquarium grows and changes.

[Brandon]

The Georgia Aquarium is truly astounding. The whale sharks are amazing. Also, if you bring little kids, be ready to explain why the animals are "wrestling", if you know what I mean. I guess it happens when you mix male and female animals. All I know is I saw it a lot when I went. Did you happen to see those jellyfish that change colors? That was one of my favorites.

[dragsterfan420]

I went to the Georgia aquarium nearly right after it opened on a school trip. (And SFoG to ride the new Goliath) It was truly amazing. I've been to many aquariums around the nation, almost in every place I've been to. The Georgia Aquarium was far superior though and it is still, to this day, my favorite. Nice TR. Is their going to be pics?

[cassie_KY]

Work stole my time for awhile. I apologize for the delay. Here are the photos.

Photos of Georgia Aquarium

I looked through them and see Nathan published every photo of me drinking a Diet Coke. I don't know if he is staging an intervention or what!

Thanks for looking!