Georgia Aquarium

Georgia Aquarium making waves in Atlanta

At the Georgia Aquarium, you can enjoy up-close encounters with beluga whales, sea lions, bonnethead sharks, electric fish and piranha -- without even getting your feet wet.

Home to 80,000 animals and more than 500 species  (and with more than eight million gallons of both salt and fresh water in its tanks) the Atlanta attraction is one of the world's largest aquariums.

Just beyond Centennial Olympic Park,in Pemberton Place, it's designed to appear as a large ship breaking through a wave. In reality, the waves and all that live beneath them are inside the 580,000-square-foot glass and steel structure.

Despite its looming size, the aquarium seems artistically geared toward inviting guests into the inner sanctum of aquatic life. The interior is kept dim and cool to simulate the ocean depths. And with 60 exhibits to explore, most visitors will appreciate the easy-to-understand progression of sea life that is divided among five distinct viewing galleries.

Each gallery houses a specific water habitat or region. They include: Cold Water Quest, Georgia Explorer, Ocean Voyager, River Scout, and Tropical Diver. Each one beckons with a distinctive entrance, representing the environment it represents. A lighthouse, for example, stands tall in front of the Georgia Explorer gallery, invoking images of the Georgian coast. An imposing ice cliff leads the way into Cold Water Quest.

The Cold Water Quest exhibit  focuses on marine life, such as Beluga whales, sea lions and penguins at home within re-creations of their cold water habitats. The Georgia Explorer gallery lets visitors interact with bonnethead sharks, cownose rays, horseshoe crabs, sea stars and shrimp in five different touch pools.

The Ocean Voyager gallery offers views through a large window and a 100-foot see-through tunnel of whale sharks, giant grouper, and thousands of other marine animals. For $290 you can get inside and swim.

The River Scout exhibit is full of freshwater occupants like the electric fish, piranha and small-clawed otter. And finally, the Tropical Diver gallery is a colorful display of fish, jellies and eel which are found throughout brilliant corral reef chains around the world.

The aquarium is also known for its 4D Theater, elegant ballrooms, healthy food court and fun gift shops (giant jellyfish decorations loom overhead). Rotating exhibits (like Titanic Aquatic) are ever changing so there is always something new to see and learn.
 

- by Christine Foster, Atlanta Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)