The final stop of my mini-zoo trip early this week was the Georgia Aquarium. I had big expectations, but tempered them a bit after seeing the great Tennessee Aquarium the day before.
The first thing we saw was the massive Ocean Voyager. This is the football field sized tank housing whale sharks, manta rays and 80 or so other species of fish. It begins with a long tunnel that gets a bit crowded. It wasn't a big deal though, b/c all I really did was stand in one spot and wait for something interesting to pass overhead. It never takes long. After that there are a few smaller windows with different views into the goliath tank. Finally, guests enter a room with a big acrylic window into the tank. This is simply amazing. From time to time, you'd be able to see all 4 whale sharks at once from this spot. I honestly could have sat on the steps in front of this exhibit for hours and not gotten bored. This was hands down the best aquarium exhibit I've ever seen. MB's outer bay tank is close, but not quite on this level. The biggest fish in the world just fade in and out, disappearing and reappearing seemingly out of nowhere. It's just that big.
After this we took in the Cold Water Quest. Belugas are the main attraction here, visible from 2 different levels and from inside an event ballroom. It was a good exhibit, but I enjoyed the Shedd display that allows visitors to view from above. the sea otter exhibit here seemed a bit small to me. It was an ongoing theme on my trip. Other animals here included spider crabs and a very well hidden octopus.
Next was the River Journey. This was a very nice area. One tank at the beginning containing large catfish, bass and others seemed to continue almost all the way through the area, often above the path. Very cool. Other exhibits of note included an average white alligator enclosure that was nowhere close to the quality of the cypress swamp recreation at Tennessee, an electric eel, and yet another small otter exhibit, this time for Asian small-clawed otters.
Near River Journey is the Georgia Scout area. It's a commendable environmental awareness themed exhibit illustrating both natural and invasive animals of the region. Invasive lionfish can be found here, as well as a see turtle (I didn't see it), and a species of sucker fish once thought extinct that was rediscovered in 1991. Most of this area is taken up by a large children's play structure/touch pool. Probably my least favorite area now. I'd have loved it when I was 5.
Another great set of aquariums awaited in the Tropical Diver section, essentially a warm weather reef exhibit. The best exhibit here is a large windowed tank near the end that was teeming with bright sunshine. It actually gave me a headache to look at it. It was an awesome tank though. thousands of fish such as tangs, wrasses, damsels, convicts and moorish idols swim together throughout the coral. One thing I want to commend this aquarium for which was most evident here, is the commitment to educating guests. There were interactive screens with dozens of graphics describing the inhabitants in detail. I spent a lot of time picking out individual species from the guide and identifying them. Things like this (only more low tech) used to be commonplace in zoos and aquariums, but seem to be on the outs. half the time all you get is a sign with a picture and maybe a latin name. Many aquariums have fish in tanks that are nowhere to be found in signage. I detest this, as I actually want to know what some of them are.
The last thing we saw was the dolphin tank. Nothing too thrilling here. It's more difficult to see the dolphins if you don't care to watch the show. We had to wait around about 90 minutes for the attendants to re-open the exhibit. If you just have to see dolphins, then don't miss it, but I like the Shedd Oceanarium much better than the marine mammal habitats at this aquarium.
All in all this was a great, albeit expensive aquarium. Ocean Voyager alone may be worth the cost of admission. I'd put this place behind Monterrey Bay and ahead of Shedd and Tennessee on my all-time list. The only great US aquarium I have yet to see is Baltimore. Maybe next year.
The first thing we saw was the massive Ocean Voyager. This is the football field sized tank housing whale sharks, manta rays and 80 or so other species of fish. It begins with a long tunnel that gets a bit crowded. It wasn't a big deal though, b/c all I really did was stand in one spot and wait for something interesting to pass overhead. It never takes long. After that there are a few smaller windows with different views into the goliath tank. Finally, guests enter a room with a big acrylic window into the tank. This is simply amazing. From time to time, you'd be able to see all 4 whale sharks at once from this spot. I honestly could have sat on the steps in front of this exhibit for hours and not gotten bored. This was hands down the best aquarium exhibit I've ever seen. MB's outer bay tank is close, but not quite on this level. The biggest fish in the world just fade in and out, disappearing and reappearing seemingly out of nowhere. It's just that big.
After this we took in the Cold Water Quest. Belugas are the main attraction here, visible from 2 different levels and from inside an event ballroom. It was a good exhibit, but I enjoyed the Shedd display that allows visitors to view from above. the sea otter exhibit here seemed a bit small to me. It was an ongoing theme on my trip. Other animals here included spider crabs and a very well hidden octopus.
Next was the River Journey. This was a very nice area. One tank at the beginning containing large catfish, bass and others seemed to continue almost all the way through the area, often above the path. Very cool. Other exhibits of note included an average white alligator enclosure that was nowhere close to the quality of the cypress swamp recreation at Tennessee, an electric eel, and yet another small otter exhibit, this time for Asian small-clawed otters.
Near River Journey is the Georgia Scout area. It's a commendable environmental awareness themed exhibit illustrating both natural and invasive animals of the region. Invasive lionfish can be found here, as well as a see turtle (I didn't see it), and a species of sucker fish once thought extinct that was rediscovered in 1991. Most of this area is taken up by a large children's play structure/touch pool. Probably my least favorite area now. I'd have loved it when I was 5.
Another great set of aquariums awaited in the Tropical Diver section, essentially a warm weather reef exhibit. The best exhibit here is a large windowed tank near the end that was teeming with bright sunshine. It actually gave me a headache to look at it. It was an awesome tank though. thousands of fish such as tangs, wrasses, damsels, convicts and moorish idols swim together throughout the coral. One thing I want to commend this aquarium for which was most evident here, is the commitment to educating guests. There were interactive screens with dozens of graphics describing the inhabitants in detail. I spent a lot of time picking out individual species from the guide and identifying them. Things like this (only more low tech) used to be commonplace in zoos and aquariums, but seem to be on the outs. half the time all you get is a sign with a picture and maybe a latin name. Many aquariums have fish in tanks that are nowhere to be found in signage. I detest this, as I actually want to know what some of them are.
The last thing we saw was the dolphin tank. Nothing too thrilling here. It's more difficult to see the dolphins if you don't care to watch the show. We had to wait around about 90 minutes for the attendants to re-open the exhibit. If you just have to see dolphins, then don't miss it, but I like the Shedd Oceanarium much better than the marine mammal habitats at this aquarium.
All in all this was a great, albeit expensive aquarium. Ocean Voyager alone may be worth the cost of admission. I'd put this place behind Monterrey Bay and ahead of Shedd and Tennessee on my all-time list. The only great US aquarium I have yet to see is Baltimore. Maybe next year.
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