The Tennessee Aquarium (TA) is located next Ross’s Landing, on the banks of the Tennessee River, in downtown Chattanooga. The Aquarium’s architecture is eye-catching with its modern brick structures and triangular glass peaks. The TA is the only freshwater aquarium in the United States, housing more than 12,000 animals, including fish, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, birds, butterflies, and a few more interesting critters!

The TA is comprised of two buildings: The River Journey (built in 1992) and The Ocean Journey (built in 2005), which proudly introduced in May 2007, a cool display of Macaroni and Gentoo penguins – the new attraction is called “Penguins Rock”.

The TA is not your typical aquarium where you’ll see whales performing acrobatics, or seals performing tricks to amuse the kids. This aquatic center aims to educate and enlighten us about the water-world that surrounds us, whether it’s the ocean or our rivers.

Each building has its own entrance. Most people tend to enter through the River Journey building, as it’s the original and it has the grand-entrance, etc. We scanned the crowds and decided to go on the Ocean Journey first, we completely avoided the crowds, and we enjoyed a more leisurely tour.


Our Ocean Journey

There was not one person queuing up, so we walked right in, showed our tickets, and had our hands stamped (you can come and go into the buildings as you please). You’ll see the rest rooms immediately to your right, and straight ahead you’ll see a very long, upward escalator that will take you all the way to the glass peaks (a sort of greenhouse). You’ll begin your journey at the top of the building and gradually meander towards the bottom of the building.

At the very top, you’ll find the “Tropical Cove” (a small tropical forest), and the “Forest Pool” (containing black stingrays and tiger rays). Both stingrays are fresh water rays and both are endangered species, and are quite beautiful. Moving along you’ll reach the “Macaw Glade”, where you can view some very nice colorful parrot specimens from South America and S.E. Asia.

Following the path, you’ll come to the “Shark Pool,” and here you can touch harmless rays (stinging barbs have been removed) and small sharks… the skin of the rays feel like velvet! The station had several attendants on duty, mostly to supervise the guests, but they’re also there to answer your questions about what you’re seeing.

Follow the arrows, you’ll find an enclosure called the “Butterfly Garden.” This is another tropical garden containing many specimens of beautiful butterflies. You’ll also see several incubators and if you’re lucky, see some butterflies emerging from their cocoons. What makes this exhibit more fun is when the butterflies find you attractive and land on your face, head, etc. When you’re ready to exit the enclosure, you must ensure you’re not carrying hitchhikers on your body!

Moving down the ramp, you’ll reach what most people are eager to see:


These Penguins Rock!!!!

This exciting exhibit opened early May, 2007. The 18,000 gallons of 45 degree water display, is complete with a wave-making machine, designed to duplicate the penguins’ natural environment. This is home to nineteen*, very active Gentoo and Macaroni penguins. These penguins are originally found in the sub-Antarctic islands surrounding the South Pole. However, these guys were not taken from a wild habitat, but they were born in Texas… Yes Sir! They were born at SeaWorld, San Antonio, and were transported to Chattanooga by refrigerated truck!!


*Originally, twenty penguins came to the TA. While preparing this review, I read the blogs published by the penguins’ caretaker, and I was saddened to learn that the Aquarium lost Caesar, one of the penguins, only two days after the exhibit opened. His medical records showed he was already acting lethargic prior to shipment, so, it makes me wonder why he was shipped to the TA?


The Penguin exhibit has glass walls from ceiling to floor and here you’ll find yourself transported to the penguin world; you can practically touch these little guys, through the glass! The penguins are in constant motion, very busy diving into the pool, swimming like fast little torpedoes, back and forth, and then POP! They jump right out of the water and onto the rocks! Wish I could do that!

Taking photos of these guys proved to be a formidable task, and had better luck taking videos of their antics with my mobile phone camera! I found myself giggling like a kid, running back and forth, following their silly antics, watching them pop out of the water, and trying to take a photograph! The penguin exhibit is fascinating! Once you force yourself (or someone pulls you away from the “live” exhibit), there are other penguin-related displays that will educate you about penguins in the wild, how they breed, care for their young, and other interesting factoids!


Continuing the Ocean Journey to see the Big Guys:

Walking down the ramp, you’ll run into a massive aquarium and see 10-foot sharks, schools of tuna, giant green turtles and very large stingrays that love to entertain by sweeping the length of the aquarium glass... they're right in your face!

You’ll see several very scary-looking barracudas, and they seem to pause in front of the crowd, you’re so close to them, that you could count their teeth (just joking)! As you continue to walk along the ramps, you’ll walk into another huge display portraying a beautiful reef, replete with beautiful coral formations, and giant eels sticking out of caves, and beautiful colorful fish!


The "Boneless Beauties" Exhibit

This room is fairly-dark and the only available light is that from the bottom-lit displays of jellyfish moving up and down, gracefully expanding and contracting… Enya was playing in the background, and the music seemed perfectly suited to the movements of these gorgeous creatures of the deep!


Other fascinating displays

The octopus display is phenomenal, showing two giant creatures. One was completely out of its den, and was stuck onto the glass… talk about being able to closely scrutinize this creature’s tentacles and suction cups… wow! I could see its eye… very tiny for such a huge creature! Our Ocean journey ended too soon, it seemed, and it was time to go on a River Journey.


So what’s in-between the two buildings?

Step outside into the bright sunlight, and walk over the beautiful, splash water area, created with kids in mind. Here children have the opportunity to splash down the steps between buildings, go across the stepping stones, or just simply pose on one of two giant pieces of concrete that look as if the ground opened up due to geothermic activity. Also, in this area, you’ll find a pair of trolley tracks, purposely left in by the designer… the cross-ties are made of bricks, and each has imprinted musical notes and the lyrics to the Chattanooga Choo-Choo song!

After playing in the public outdoor areas, it was time to enter the “River Journey” building. By this time, it was around 3:00 pm and the school kids were beginning to exit both buildings!


The River Journey

As soon as you walk in the River Journey building, the TA staff will ask you to pose for a picture, which you can purchase at the end of the tour for $20.00. As you head towards the escalator, there is massive photograph of the Tennessee River’s most photographed bend; quite stunning!


The forest and rivers of the Appalachian Mountains

On this journey you’ll participate in a freshwater adventure, the theme being “the story of the river”, following the path of a raindrop high in the Appalachian mountains all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The vast majority of the displays follow this theme, with exhibits showcasing the Appalachian Cove Forest, a steamy Delta swamp, and a beautiful water fall. Here you'll delight in watching the antics of the river otters who swim past you at lightening speed!

The exhibits, foliage, rocks, and live fish displays give a sensation of being in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. Many of the exhibits are so realistic, especially with fat trout swimming around, makes you wish you’d brought your fishing gear!


Seahorses

This gallery displays the seahorses, in all sizes and colors and from many regions of the world. A special exhibit displays Leafy Sea Dragons, which are so interesting because unless you look carefully, you may think it’s just a bunch of seaweed floating in the tank. We were told these rare seahorses hailing from Tasmania cost about $2,000 each! The exhibits are great for both children and adults… there is one tank where there’s a large glass bubble people can crawl inside and pretend they're swimming with the seahorses!

Rivers of the World

Eventually, you’ll arrive at the section featuring some of the major rivers of the world, such as the Amazon: the exhibit is complete with piranhas AND an anaconda!

Other displays in the Rivers of the World feature very large sturgeons from North America and Europe. There is also a petting pool where you can pet the sturgeons. The sturgeon is a fish highly coveted in Russia for their eggs (caviar). In England, it was said that all sturgeons the swam in the Thames belonged to the King!

Sturgeons are certainly an odd-looking fish, almost as if evolution by-passed them!

In this building you’ll also find a very large fish tank, and you’ll see tarpons, turtles, and other creatures of the deep.

The River Journey came to an end, and while it was educational, it was not as exciting as the Ocean Journey. We avoided the crowds by going on the Ocean Journey first, but the River Journey should probably be visited first, and you should leave the Ocean Journey for last because the exhibits in the Ocean Journey are definitely more exciting!


Nuts and Bolts

Parking

The TA does not have private parking. As a result, your journey begins when you drive around trying to find a parking spot in one of the many parking lots in the vicinity of the TA. You can spot the glass peaks from just about anywhere, so, park in a lot that you consider is a comfortable walking distance to the aquarium. Once you find a spot, pay attention to your parking spot number, and then, deposit your money at a nearby kiosk (day fee: $5 and upwards) in the number corresponding to your park spot. These are self-service payment kiosks, there are no attendants present to make change; coins and bills are accepted.


Admission Fees (Each ticket purchased helps support Aquarium conservation programs):

The ticket office is adjacent to the Chattanooga Visitors Center, in front of the Aquarium.

Adults: $17.95
Child, ages 3-12: $9.50

The IMAX®3D Theater:

We did not go into this attraction. It is next door to the Aquarium. Ticket prices are $7.95 per adult and $5.50 per child.

Save a wee bit of money by purchasing “Aquarium/IMAX” combo tickets at $22.95 for adults and $13.50 for children.

Avoid the lines by purchasing advance tickets online at: www.tnaqua.org or by phone at 1-800-262-0695.

I suggest advanced ticket purchase. When I purchased our tickets at the window, there were only two women in front of me, both teachers, and they were purchasing 50 tickets, to include handwritten name tags; imagine how long it took to get through!


When Hunger Strikes…

The TA does not have any food concessions on site. However, step out of the Aquarium, and you’ll see a few vendors, as well as a couple of little cafes next to the Visitors Center. If you’re really, really, hungry, and a hot dog won’t do, only a block away you’ll find quite a variety of restaurants.


Souvenirs

Haven’t spent enough money? When you exit the River Journey you’ll be offered a 8x10 photo package to include a key chain, for $20. Of course, we didn’t buy it!

There are two well-stocked gift shops, one in each aquarium. The hottest selling items, PENGUINS, what else?!

Behind-the Scene Tours:

If you find yourself with extra time in your hands, with nothing to do, then why not learn how an aquarium is run, from feeding the animals, the entire plumbing system, etc. We did not go on this tour, but it seems to be a fun thing to do. If you decide you want t see this, you can add on $15.00 to your admission ticket, space availability is limited, however.


Summary

The directional flow of the exhibits is well-thought out, walkways meander around, leading you from one exhibit to the next. People seem to move easily, there are no traffic jams, and you never get the feeling of being crowded or rushed. People with disabilities have no problems whatsoever as the walkways are wide. Elevators are available. Allow at least 3.5 hours to comfortably see the two aquariums. Add additional time if you want to see an IMAX movie, and of course, additional time is needed to spend in the outdoor water-splash areas. If you plan to do it all, then, by all means, it’s an all-day affair.

The exhibits display many animals but don’t appear to be crowded; they seem to have ample room to move about, and they look healthy and robust!

The Tennessee Aquarium’s mission is to “instill appreciation and marvel for the natural world”… I can say this aquarium is a huge success! In observing the school children ages 8-10 that were there that day, I can say that they were fascinated by what they saw, and I heard many of them asking intelligent questions to the attendants, with obvious excitement in their voices! The Tennessee Aquarium was obviously a gratifying and stimulating experience for everyone present, including yours truly! I absolutely loved this aquarium.

What a day! Time well-spent and definitely worth visiting!


Thank you for reading!!

©Reginafug 2007


This is my contribution to Beastiegirl's Summer w/o: http://www1.epinions.com/content_5014855812

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