ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
Aquarium Reviews, Continued
The third aquarium we toured was the South Carolina Aquarium, on the waterfront of historic Charleston. It has a tremendous setting, with a great view from its front deck of the entire harbor, including Fort Sumter (where the Civil War began). We probably didn't see the SC Aquarium at its best, as its open air Saltmarsh exhibit had recently sprung a leak and thus was empty. They also had a touch tank under construction, which meant the touch tank we saw seemed kind of make shift. They also have a new penguin exhibit opening in March. From what we did see, the Ocean tank was best -- reportedly the tallest aquatic exhibit in the nation at 42-feet high. It was impressive, seen from two levels, with sharks, rays, and many fish. This place is well known for rescuing sea turtles, and they had a few in the Coast exhibit. The aquarium also has a number of non-aquatic animals, including a bald eagle, skunks, owls, and more.
On our trip, we also toured both of the Ripley's Aquariums, in both Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I can predict that some out there do not like the fact that a famous tourist attraction corporation like Ripley's is doing aquariums. My reaction is that their aquariums are both excellent, and they attract many visitors who probably don't ordinarily go to aquariums or zoos. Situated in major tourist towns, these aquariums give vacationers another "thing to do", especially for children. Similar to the Georgia Aquarium (see above), the Ripley's aquariums are both expensive -- and busy. Both of these aquariums are very similar, and both are highlighted with an extensively long "shark tube" -- what I call their long, long acrylic tube that winds through their large shark tank, which includes many large sharks, plus lots of sawfish, giant groupers, rays, and many other large fish. At the end of these 350-foot-plus underwater tunnels is a separate tank filled with moray eels (in Myrtle Beach) or barracudas (in Gatlinburg). Both aquariums have attractive Amazon River exhibit areas, and both have nice, dark galleries with many different sea creatures. In Gatlinburg, the Japanese giant spider crabs were in a round cylinder tank which magnified their already scary size. Both also had a central Discovery Center, with many things for kids to do. Most interesting were the round tanks with puffer fish, sea horses, and sea dragons, where children could crawl underneath them and appear to emerge within the fish's tank. Both facilities also had interesting temporary exhibit galleries, with Myrtle Beach featuring a complete look at Pirates, while Gatlinburg had "Incubators", a most interesting look at the different ways animals give birth. Again, the tours of both aquariums ended similarly, with a "Ray Bay" exhibit with lots and lots of large and small rays. Visitors then walk up a ramp to the top of the rays' pool, where they could lean in and touch any of the slimey rays as they swim by.
We also squeezed in a visit to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, one of North Carolina's chain of 3 small aquariums up and down its long Atlantic coast. I had visited all 3 of them a decade ago and thought they were all nice, but quite small. Therefore, I was very surprised at how nice this most southern of the 3 aquariums has become! It is now three times bigger than it was the last time I saw it. Situated in the beachy resort area of Cape Fear, about 15 miles south of Wilmington, the aquarium begins with the new open air Cape Fear Conservatory. Scattered around this refreshingly airy large room are exhibits of freshwater fish, turtles, snakes, and even alligators. The 2-level Main Building contains over 20 mostly small exhibits of various interesting sea creatures, including rays, seahorses, jellyfish, and many colorful fish. The highlight was tall Cape Fear Shoals tank, with a few large sharks and many other fish. I was most interested with an exhibit called "Blockade Runner", where they simulated an actual sunken boat from the Civil War, which has become an artificial reef. All in all, this once small aquarium has become quite impressive.
Overall, I'd say that this part of the south (Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas) is a great place for aquariums!
The third aquarium we toured was the South Carolina Aquarium, on the waterfront of historic Charleston. It has a tremendous setting, with a great view from its front deck of the entire harbor, including Fort Sumter (where the Civil War began). We probably didn't see the SC Aquarium at its best, as its open air Saltmarsh exhibit had recently sprung a leak and thus was empty. They also had a touch tank under construction, which meant the touch tank we saw seemed kind of make shift. They also have a new penguin exhibit opening in March. From what we did see, the Ocean tank was best -- reportedly the tallest aquatic exhibit in the nation at 42-feet high. It was impressive, seen from two levels, with sharks, rays, and many fish. This place is well known for rescuing sea turtles, and they had a few in the Coast exhibit. The aquarium also has a number of non-aquatic animals, including a bald eagle, skunks, owls, and more.
On our trip, we also toured both of the Ripley's Aquariums, in both Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I can predict that some out there do not like the fact that a famous tourist attraction corporation like Ripley's is doing aquariums. My reaction is that their aquariums are both excellent, and they attract many visitors who probably don't ordinarily go to aquariums or zoos. Situated in major tourist towns, these aquariums give vacationers another "thing to do", especially for children. Similar to the Georgia Aquarium (see above), the Ripley's aquariums are both expensive -- and busy. Both of these aquariums are very similar, and both are highlighted with an extensively long "shark tube" -- what I call their long, long acrylic tube that winds through their large shark tank, which includes many large sharks, plus lots of sawfish, giant groupers, rays, and many other large fish. At the end of these 350-foot-plus underwater tunnels is a separate tank filled with moray eels (in Myrtle Beach) or barracudas (in Gatlinburg). Both aquariums have attractive Amazon River exhibit areas, and both have nice, dark galleries with many different sea creatures. In Gatlinburg, the Japanese giant spider crabs were in a round cylinder tank which magnified their already scary size. Both also had a central Discovery Center, with many things for kids to do. Most interesting were the round tanks with puffer fish, sea horses, and sea dragons, where children could crawl underneath them and appear to emerge within the fish's tank. Both facilities also had interesting temporary exhibit galleries, with Myrtle Beach featuring a complete look at Pirates, while Gatlinburg had "Incubators", a most interesting look at the different ways animals give birth. Again, the tours of both aquariums ended similarly, with a "Ray Bay" exhibit with lots and lots of large and small rays. Visitors then walk up a ramp to the top of the rays' pool, where they could lean in and touch any of the slimey rays as they swim by.
We also squeezed in a visit to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, one of North Carolina's chain of 3 small aquariums up and down its long Atlantic coast. I had visited all 3 of them a decade ago and thought they were all nice, but quite small. Therefore, I was very surprised at how nice this most southern of the 3 aquariums has become! It is now three times bigger than it was the last time I saw it. Situated in the beachy resort area of Cape Fear, about 15 miles south of Wilmington, the aquarium begins with the new open air Cape Fear Conservatory. Scattered around this refreshingly airy large room are exhibits of freshwater fish, turtles, snakes, and even alligators. The 2-level Main Building contains over 20 mostly small exhibits of various interesting sea creatures, including rays, seahorses, jellyfish, and many colorful fish. The highlight was tall Cape Fear Shoals tank, with a few large sharks and many other fish. I was most interested with an exhibit called "Blockade Runner", where they simulated an actual sunken boat from the Civil War, which has become an artificial reef. All in all, this once small aquarium has become quite impressive.
Overall, I'd say that this part of the south (Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas) is a great place for aquariums!
