Georgia Aquarium Opens

Paige and I went to check out the new downtown aquarium last Monday. Paige had class at Noon, and our reservation was for ten. So, our visit was a bit hurried. We stood in line for about forty-five minutes in the biting winds of downtown. There was a steady drizzle of rain, and the temperature was in the low 40's. I believe the weather cleared out many of the rumored protestors, but several remained. I can see their point, but I belived the educational and conservational lessons presented by the aquarium far outweigh the protestors' concerns. The popular chant, "House people, not fish." was a stab at local government, but the aquarium was primarily funded by the founder of Home Depot. Also, the revenue earned by the city could be utilized to expand some existing social policies.


Once inside the aquarium, we noticed it was divided into five galleries joined together in an expansive, common area. Our first destination was the Ocean Voyager. This is a great starting point. The area houses the aquarium tunnel and North America's largest view window. Two, fifteen foot whale sharks are here as well, not to mention a school of rays, giant grouper, and hammerheads.


The Tropical Diver was next. This area houses a diverse mix of tropical marine life. Apparently, this area houses the coral reef and jelly fish exhibits, but we missed them. We kind of rushed through this area. One cool aspect of this area was that kids could go through crawl spaces that provided uniqued views of the displays.


We skipped the Georgia Expolore entirely. It was beside the touch tanks and was too crowded. We decided to save it for our next visit.

In Cold Water Quest we saw some penguins and sea lions, but the beluga whales were incredible. We stayed here for a while and watch these guys swim. They're very active, and it's like they are posing for you. I got some cool shots of them. This exhibit alone was worth the wait in line.

We finished with a quick romp through the River Scout. There were some frisky otters here. The sea otters in the other gallery were all asleep, but these guys were on the move. Other attractions contained marine life that inhabit various river habitats around the world.

I'm glad that Paige and I bought annual passes because the Georgia Aquarium warrants repeat visits. I could easily spend more than twice the amount of time we were limited to on this trip. And I know we will be going back whenever anyone comes to visit. My only complaint is the mascot, Deepo. Pretty weak, huh. And the fish looks and sounds like a Nemo ripoff.