tiburon72157
Guest
Anybody been to the new aquarium yet? Would like to hear about it...
New Atlanta Aquarium?
- Thread starter tiburon72157
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johnnyseko
Contributor
Me too...I'll be there on new years eve.....
AlexRodriguez
Contributor
tiburon72157:
I would like to know if they are are going to let divers in like at Epcot! That would be way cool.
Alex
johnnyseko
Contributor
Here's the 'unofficial' report on the Georgia Aquarium. I went on New Years
Eve. I don't want to give out too many details, but will include the
highlights from each section within the aquarium. First, if you do decide
to go I would recommend paying the $2 at the information desk for the
'detailed' map and guidebook. At least then you will have some details
about the animals you are seeing.
Alright, so lets get started....the aquarium is divided into five sections
or regions.
The Georgia Explorer: Was made up of animals that are common along the
Georgia coast. This section was very much targeting the children with lots
of hands-on interaction. Leading to the enterance to this section was the
tank with Bonnethead sharks, Southern stingrays, and Cownose rays. It was a
shallow tank and was packed with rays and kids and adults petting them.
There were several other hands-on exhibits and a neat kids slide in the
shape of a whale.
River Scout: Africa, the Amazon, North America and Asian Otters were
represented here. A very neat exhibit and I was in awe of the overhead
river. It was a very different experience to have the tank above you.
Everyone seemed to think it was very cool.
Cold Water Quest: I liked every tank in this one. My favorite has to be
the Beluga Whales. Nice huge viewing window and area. I must say I
am not a big fan of keeping whales in captivity and their tank didnt look
very big at all.
Ocean Voyager: Well this was probably the most talked about
exhibit....whale sharks. Well I thought the tunnel was really cool.
Standing at the giant viewing window (largest in the nation) I dont think I
realized how huge it was and wasn't that impressed. When I got home and
viewed the pics I was in awe....hmmmmm wierd. Well a cool exhibit but I
dont think any tank is big enough for those sharks. I had also hoped you
could view it from above, which you could not....shame but then you would
probably realize just how inadequate the size of the tank is for those
sharks. I dont mean to sound negative about it because it really was very
impressive.
Tropical Diver: Well the coral reef tank was very impressive here.
Probably more so because I didnt expect it. It was another huge viewing
window and the tank curved above you. It was complete with crashing waves
on the part that curved above. It was a very nice viewing area and there
were a lot of ooohs and ahhhs from people when a wave crashed and it did
look very neat to see from below.
The other attraction which I did not see was the 4D Theater. There were no
viewing times when I was there and it seemed completely geared toward
children.
So all in all this was a very impressive aquarium. The size of the place
and the fact that it is nowhere near an ocean is quite amazing. I do not
have much to compare it to, but I thought a section about the environmental
impact we are having on the oceans might have been a good thing here. I did
not see much information around and had to purchase the book which is really
what should probably be given out to begin with. The place was packed with
people and it was difficult if not impossible to get pics of a lot of
exhibits. It did move along at a nice pace and I spent about three hours
there including lunch. If I had more time and energy I would have gone
through all the exhibits a second time. At lunch I was fortunate enough to
have to share a table with a woman and got a non-diver perspective on the
aquarium. She was from FL and said the place is way above Sea World. She
was thrilled to be there and said it was as close as she'll ever get as she
cannot dive for health reasons. So considering that many people are
actually getting educated here is a good thing. I had to laugh when I heard
someone think the CA Sea Otters were Ferrets and another person was amazed
that those Belugas were actually whales!
I will upload a bunch of pics. If you would prefer to be surprised when you
go to the GA Aquarium...dont look!
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1427
Eve. I don't want to give out too many details, but will include the
highlights from each section within the aquarium. First, if you do decide
to go I would recommend paying the $2 at the information desk for the
'detailed' map and guidebook. At least then you will have some details
about the animals you are seeing.
Alright, so lets get started....the aquarium is divided into five sections
or regions.
The Georgia Explorer: Was made up of animals that are common along the
Georgia coast. This section was very much targeting the children with lots
of hands-on interaction. Leading to the enterance to this section was the
tank with Bonnethead sharks, Southern stingrays, and Cownose rays. It was a
shallow tank and was packed with rays and kids and adults petting them.
There were several other hands-on exhibits and a neat kids slide in the
shape of a whale.
River Scout: Africa, the Amazon, North America and Asian Otters were
represented here. A very neat exhibit and I was in awe of the overhead
river. It was a very different experience to have the tank above you.
Everyone seemed to think it was very cool.
Cold Water Quest: I liked every tank in this one. My favorite has to be
the Beluga Whales. Nice huge viewing window and area. I must say I
am not a big fan of keeping whales in captivity and their tank didnt look
very big at all.
Ocean Voyager: Well this was probably the most talked about
exhibit....whale sharks. Well I thought the tunnel was really cool.
Standing at the giant viewing window (largest in the nation) I dont think I
realized how huge it was and wasn't that impressed. When I got home and
viewed the pics I was in awe....hmmmmm wierd. Well a cool exhibit but I
dont think any tank is big enough for those sharks. I had also hoped you
could view it from above, which you could not....shame but then you would
probably realize just how inadequate the size of the tank is for those
sharks. I dont mean to sound negative about it because it really was very
impressive.
Tropical Diver: Well the coral reef tank was very impressive here.
Probably more so because I didnt expect it. It was another huge viewing
window and the tank curved above you. It was complete with crashing waves
on the part that curved above. It was a very nice viewing area and there
were a lot of ooohs and ahhhs from people when a wave crashed and it did
look very neat to see from below.
The other attraction which I did not see was the 4D Theater. There were no
viewing times when I was there and it seemed completely geared toward
children.
So all in all this was a very impressive aquarium. The size of the place
and the fact that it is nowhere near an ocean is quite amazing. I do not
have much to compare it to, but I thought a section about the environmental
impact we are having on the oceans might have been a good thing here. I did
not see much information around and had to purchase the book which is really
what should probably be given out to begin with. The place was packed with
people and it was difficult if not impossible to get pics of a lot of
exhibits. It did move along at a nice pace and I spent about three hours
there including lunch. If I had more time and energy I would have gone
through all the exhibits a second time. At lunch I was fortunate enough to
have to share a table with a woman and got a non-diver perspective on the
aquarium. She was from FL and said the place is way above Sea World. She
was thrilled to be there and said it was as close as she'll ever get as she
cannot dive for health reasons. So considering that many people are
actually getting educated here is a good thing. I had to laugh when I heard
someone think the CA Sea Otters were Ferrets and another person was amazed
that those Belugas were actually whales!
I will upload a bunch of pics. If you would prefer to be surprised when you
go to the GA Aquarium...dont look!
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1427
Gidds
Contributor
*jealous*
ScubaFishee
Guest
Nice report and great pictures. Thanks for sharing!
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Awesome pics! Thanks for reporting!
Kimber
Kimber
OP
tiburon72157
Guest
thanks very much for the report. must be insanely expensive to maintain that place.
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