Michelle and I took a trip downtown yesterday to visit the Georgia Aquarium. We left bright and early expecting heavy traffic, but ended up arriving earlier than expected. It was nice and quiet when we arrived, something that changed dramatically as everyone else began arriving. First, we visited the Ocean Voyager. It’s the largest tank in the aquarium, and by far my favorite. You could look into the tank from about every side. There was a tunnel that you could walk through that took you through the middle of it. It was amazing seeing the whale sharks, hammer heads, sting rays, and thousands of other fish swimming all around you. It’s the closest thing to scuba diving you can experience without getting wet. [Click any of the images in this post to view a larger version and to see the rest of the pictures I took while at the aquarium.]

After going through the tunnel (which I failed to get a picture of itself), we were lead into a room with an impressively large window into the Ocean Voyager tank. Michelle and I sat there for a while, and came back before leaving. It was so relaxing to watch the animals swim by, accompanied by the music that was playing. It was so funny to watch the grouper fish. They would swim right up to the glass and stare at us. At any given moment there were three or four 400 pound grouper fish staring at us while we were staring at them. There was one that would stay near the edge and just kind of peek around the corner at everyone. They were probably just as amazed as we were. 

We then went to the Tropical Diver exhibit. There were several smaller tanks with garden eels, jelly fish, and many tropical fish. Unfortunately, this is the point that the battery in my camera died. I got a couple of pictures of this exhibit. 

After the Tropical Diver, we went to the “4D” theater. It was a 30 minute 3D animated show about conserving the oceans and the animals that live in it. They 4th “D” came into play with vibrating seats, bubbles that would fall from the ceiling, burst of air, and “tentacles” that brushed up against you while you were going through a school of jelly fish. The show was obviously for children, but it’s enjoyable for everyone.

The Cold Water Quest exhibit featured three beluga whales, sea otters, penguins, sea lions, and Japanese spider crabs. The beluga whales were so large, but at the same time they were so graceful. One of the whales began swimming around in front of the glass. The guide called it the “beluga ballet”. 

We ate at the aquarium and then proceeded to the River Scout exhibit. The “river” ran overhead throughout the exhibit. It was such a neat experience to be walking under a river and seeing the animals from that perspective. There were also alligators, turtles, piranhas, river otters, and different displays of “electric” fish.

Next was the Georgia Explorer exhibit, which featured several touch tanks. I couldn’t pass up the chance to touch sharks, sting rays, horse shoe crabs, starfish, and shrimp. They all felt exactly how I imagined them feeling, but it was fun.  After visiting the beluga whales and the Ocean Voyager again, we headed out. We got some drinks at a coffee stand outside on the way back to the parking deck.

It was a great visit, but we’ll have to return in the future with a fully charged camera battery. There were signs inside saying that they are adding a dolphin exhibit that will be completed in 2010.