ZooZooReview: Tennessee Aquarium

Hey Everyone! Today we have a guest post! My nephew and sister-in-law, Ashley went to the Tennessee aquarium in Chattanooga, TN a week or so ago. They took pictures and wanted to share their review! Check it out!

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As part of our “summer get-away,” my son and I toured the Tennessee Aquarium, located in the heart of downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. We had heard wonderful things about this aquarium, as it is on the top ten list of animal attractions in the United States. Let’s just say we were not disappointed, as it lived up to everything we had heard and then some.

Tickets are reasonably priced (adults $25 and kiddos a little less). I will tell you that it is well worth the additional $6 per person for the IMAX Theatre, which plays 45 minute films that are somewhat like animal documentaries. The films are rotated out, and we watched a documentary on orphan orangutans and elephants called Born to be Wild. It is narrated by Morgan Freeman, and in addition it is 3D, both adults and kids alike were completely entertained. My son is 4 years old, and never took his eyes off the screen. If you have children, that should tell you something!

The aquarium is appropriately located next to a river, which can be seen from each floor of the 2 aquarium building. The first building is named the River Journey, while the second is the Ocean Journey.

There are no tour guides; however, the areas are easy to navigate through, making it nice to wonder around at your own pace. You can easily spend all day watching the animals swim, fly, and play, or you can scoot though the exhibits within a couple of hours.

We started in the Ocean Journey. The first exhibit contains penguins. We watched them eat and then dive like torpedoes for the longest time. While on land, they stand extremely still, and at first glance, it appears they are statues.

Penguin diving in the water

From there, we moved to the stingray tanks, where an aquarium employee tells you interesting facts above these animals. My son loved this exhibit because it was hands on. You are allowed to touch the stingrays as they circle around and around. Fantastic!!

The butterfly atrium was by far, one of the most interesting exhibits in the entire aquarium. Butterflies flutter all around you. Some are ordinary, however, some are extraordinary! My son wanted desperately to hold a butterfly, so from the minute we walked into the atrium, he walked around with one little finger held straight-up, trying his hardest to attract a butterfly. After several disappointing minutes, and still no butterfly perched on his little finger, we were ready to give up. On the way out of the atrium, I spotted what appeared to be an ordinary monarch butterfly. I quietly motioned for Jase, not wanted any other children to notice that this butterfly was so low to the ground. I placed his little finger right in front of the butterfly, and amazingly, the butterfly crawled right on. Score!!!! Other children crowded around to watch. When it was time to move to the next exhibit, Jase gently placed the butterfly onto another little boy’s finger. The butterfly latched right on…..extraordinary!!!!

I could ramble on and on, however, I suggest you venture to southern Tennessee and check it out for yourself. You will not be disappointed. The drive is beautiful and it’s about 6 degrees cooler (with less humidity than Florida). Gotta love that!

And Here are a few more pictures: