best public aquarium?
- Thread starter BlackShark11k
- Start date
These are the larger aquariums I've visited:
Georgia Aquarium (2008)
Shedd Aquarium (2006)
New Orleans Aquarium (2006)
Ripley's Aquarium, Gatlinburg, TN (twice in 2005)
Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN (2003 & 2009)
The Shedd was the best overall. I liked their species selection. They had the exhibits arranged by ecosystem and native range, which I prefer (but I'm a nerd, order is very important to me).
The Georgia Aquarium has whale sharks and a catfish tank that's above your head. However, they had some species that aren't naturally found together housed together. We were required to empty our pockets and be 'wanded' before we could enter. The employees tried to rush me through the whale shark viewing. I stopped at the smallest window to enjoy the anticipation and they mocked me for it. It's worth the trip, but I won't be back until the sharks are much larger.
The 2 Tennessee aquariums are both really nice. Ripley's is small, but has nice exhibits. It's in the Smoky Mountains, near the National Park, so there's lots of camping/hiking/whatever to do. The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is only an hour south of the Ripley Aquarium. The TN Aquarium starts you out at the top in a mountain stream. You follow the water down to the ocean at the ground level. The bulk of the marine exhibits are in the newer building. They have sturgeon, paddlefish, some cute turtles, beautiful stingrays, a large moray eel, and a couple of Hyacinth Macaws. I really liked this one.
The aquarium in New Orleans was averagely nice. I liked it alot and I'll visit again when I'm back in New Orleans.
I'm hoping to start visiting some West Coast aqariums soon, so I hope some people will suggest some on this side of the country.
A
Georgia Aquarium (2008)
Shedd Aquarium (2006)
New Orleans Aquarium (2006)
Ripley's Aquarium, Gatlinburg, TN (twice in 2005)
Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN (2003 & 2009)
The Shedd was the best overall. I liked their species selection. They had the exhibits arranged by ecosystem and native range, which I prefer (but I'm a nerd, order is very important to me).
The Georgia Aquarium has whale sharks and a catfish tank that's above your head. However, they had some species that aren't naturally found together housed together. We were required to empty our pockets and be 'wanded' before we could enter. The employees tried to rush me through the whale shark viewing. I stopped at the smallest window to enjoy the anticipation and they mocked me for it. It's worth the trip, but I won't be back until the sharks are much larger.
The 2 Tennessee aquariums are both really nice. Ripley's is small, but has nice exhibits. It's in the Smoky Mountains, near the National Park, so there's lots of camping/hiking/whatever to do. The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is only an hour south of the Ripley Aquarium. The TN Aquarium starts you out at the top in a mountain stream. You follow the water down to the ocean at the ground level. The bulk of the marine exhibits are in the newer building. They have sturgeon, paddlefish, some cute turtles, beautiful stingrays, a large moray eel, and a couple of Hyacinth Macaws. I really liked this one.
The aquarium in New Orleans was averagely nice. I liked it alot and I'll visit again when I'm back in New Orleans.
I'm hoping to start visiting some West Coast aqariums soon, so I hope some people will suggest some on this side of the country.
A
i've been the the Georgia, Tennessee, and New Orleans. I like the Tennessee the best because of all of the freshwater stuff. but it has been about 8yrs since i've been to the NO one. i'm volunteering at the GA aquarium on sunday so i get a free visit 
its been about 3yrs since i've made it down there.
its been about 3yrs since i've made it down there.
I remember this one aquarium/science museum of sorts in SF that I visited. It had a HUGE amazonian fish exhibit with a crapload of huge aros ,plecos and arapaimas. They also had a tank full of a bunch of giant Aligator Gars and Red tail cats too.
