As I was planning fun things to do this summer, I learned that June is National Zoo and Aquarium Month! The purpose of this annual celebration is to shine a spotlight on the vital role of zoos and aquariums. They provide conservation, research, education, and protection efforts of animals and marine life. That is definitely something to celebrate! (While also giving an excuse to visit your local zoo or aquarium!!)
I am fortunate enough to have the Georgia Aquarium close by, so I of course took a day trip to check it out. It was one of the best days I’ve had in a while. Who knew that the aquarium could bring so much joy?! Since I had not been in 7 years, many things had changed or been added, so it was basically like visiting for the first time. My husband, David, and I both had a blast, and I’m excited to share my experience with you.
Because I love learning random facts, I’ll start by sharing a few about the Georgia Aquarium:
- It is the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere, and the fourth largest aquarium in the world!
- The aquarium contains more than 11 million gallons of water!
- It is the only aquarium in North America that is home to whale sharks, the largest fish in the world.
Ocean Voyager
When we arrived at the aquarium, we started at the Ocean Voyager exhibit. This exhibit features one of the largest single aquatic exhibits in the world, made specifically to house the famous whale sharks. There is a long tunnel you walk through to view the thousands of marine animals. A giant viewing window also gives a different perspective of this exhibit.
Tropical Diver
Next, we made our way to the Tropical Diver exhibit. Here we saw an array of brightly colored fish and corals from all over the world. I love how they feature marine wildlife from different regions. They also have eels, which are interestingly enough very entertaining to watch! They were a lot bigger than I expected them to be. My favorite in this section were the jellies- I have a special little place in my heart for jellyfish since I have been stung so many times. No worries though, I still love them!
SHARKS!
The following exhibit we visited was SHARKS! Predators of the Deep. This is the newest exhibit, so I had never seen it before. Let me tell you, I could have sat in this exhibit watching the sharks for hours!! They have many hammerhead sharks, but also have sand tiger sharks, silvertip sharks, and tiger sharks. Another amazing feature of this exhibit was the large school of false pilchard fish. These are small, reflective silver fish that form a tight cluster. They formed the shape of a funnel during our visit and swam in circles, making a slow moving underwater fish tornado! I’m not sure if this is common, but everyone in the exhibit was fascinated by them doing this.
River Scouts
After being with the sharks for a while, we made our way over to the River Scout exhibit. This is the only fresh water exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium. It features piranhas, otters, turtles, and more! One of David’s favorite animals is the otter, so we had fun watching them play and swim around.
Cold Water Quest
We then went into the last exhibit in the downstairs portion of the aquarium, Cold Water Quest. Like the name implies, this exhibit features animals that thrive in some of the ocean’s coldest waters. Here we saw penguins, puffins, beluga whales, and my favorite, Australian weedy sea dragons! As we were watching the beluga whales, one of them was blowing bubbles, swimming away, and then coming back to it to pop it! I had no idea they did this, so it was super fun to observe this type of play behavior.
Upstairs, we went to a touch pool with freshwater stingrays. They are beautiful creatures, but unfortunately they weren’t moving around while we stood there so we left and made our way into Gator Crossing. This gives an overhead view of one of the tanks in the River Scout exhibit. You also get to see some alligators, hence the name. Most of them weren’t moving at all, but one decided to crawl completely on top of another to reposition himself. That gave us a good laugh. According to one of the workers there, the gators normally just lay there unfazed, so I guess we were in the right place at the right time to see one move!
Dolphin Coast
At this point, it was time for us to head to the dolphin theater to take a seat to watch the Dolphin Coast show! We reserved our tickets for the show when we first arrived at the aquarium, so we were guaranteed seats. Seats are first come first serve. We were super close to the front because I wanted to sit in the splash zone (first ten rows). David was not excited about the prospects of getting soaked, but he is a trooper and didn’t make us move.
Once the show started, it was amazing!! The dolphins have so much agility and are very playful creatures. I have always known they are smart, but seeing the show really showed me that! The dolphins splashed buckets of water at different sections of the crowd, and at that point I was getting nervous about where I made us sit. Luckily we were spared and did not get a single drop of water on us. We got an amazing view without getting wet, a win-win!
The dolphin show concluded our time at the aquarium for the day. There were two things we did not do. The first is Truist Pier 225, a sea lion show. It was sold out upon our arrival, so we weren’t able to watch it. The second is Aquanaut Adventure, a discovery zone featuring aquatic life that live in extreme environments around the world. To be honest, we thought the Aquanaut exhibit was a paid experience, so it is our fault for not going into it. Next time we will definitely have to check it out!
Overall, the Georgia Aquarium has my stamp of approval! There are so many different exhibits to explore with a diverse array of marine animals. There is something for everyone to enjoy, no matter your age. No matter if you are local to Atlanta or planning a trip to visit the city, I recommend visiting the Georgia Aquarium. You are sure to find some joy in your visit!
Here are some tips for your visit to the Georgia Aquarium:
How much are tickets?
Tickets prices are dynamic and start at $39.99. It is cheaper to buy ahead of time online. Peak season and times will make your ticket price change. Also, keep in mind that parking at the aquarium parking deck is $20.
Can you get into the aquarium for free at any point?
Yes! You get free entry into the aquarium for FREE on your birthday! We took advantage of this for David’s birthday and were able to “purchase” the free birthday ticket ahead of time in addition to my paid ticket.
Is parking available at the aquarium?
Yes, the aquarium has it’s own parking deck. It is $20 for the day to park. There are other small parking lots in the area, but most charge the same or more. The aquarium’s parking deck is the best parking option in my opinion.
Are there food options at the aquarium?
Yes, there is a cafe that you can purchase food from! Chicken tenders, burgers, and fries are some of their offerings. There are many tables to sit and eat at in the main area.
While this post is focused on aquariums, zoos have similar conservation, research, and education efforts that are worth supporting as well. This National Zoo and Aquarium Month, I encourage you to visit your local zoo or aquarium to discover all it’s amazing offerings! And if you are close to Atlanta, visit the Georgia Aquarium!
If you like more laid-back content, I posted a YouTube video of our day spent at the aquarium. It is a vlog style video that includes other fun things we did that day in Atlanta.
That’s all for today’s post, but make sure to check back on the blog for upcoming fashion, travel, and lifestyle content!