The Georgia Aquarium is a public aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It houses more than a hundred thousand animals and represents several thousand species, all of which reside in 10 million US gallons (38,000 m3) of marine and salt water.
Exhibits
The aquarium's animals are displayed in seven galleries and exhibits: Tropical Diver, Ocean Voyager, Cold Water Quest, River Scout, Dolphin Celebration, Pier 225, and Aquanaut Adventure: A Discovery Zone. Each corresponds to a specific environment.
The first exhibit, Southern Company River Scout, reflects regional environments. It features an overhead river where visitors can see North American fish from the bottom up. In addition to local specimens, this exhibit displays piranha, electric eel and other unusual freshwater life.
Next to River Scout is the AT&T Dolphin Celebration gallery. This is one of the aquarium's newer additions (opened in April 2011) and houses the indoor dolphin stadium. The aquarium houses thirteen bottlenose dolphins, though this number fluctuates from time to time. The show lasts about 20 to 30 minutes and includes an informative/educational videos about the dolphins 30 minutes before the show. Admission to the AT&T Dolphin Celebration show is included in general admission.
Current Dolphins presently living there: Niele (M), Kenobi (M), Polka (M), Sydney (M), Pacino (M), Phebe (F), Pukanala (F), Kei (M), Makana (M), Briland (M), Salvador (M), Luna (F), Bermudiana (F). Guests also can see the dolphins during non-show times.
The third section of the aquarium, Cold Water Quest, features animals from the polar and temperate regions of the world and contains most of the mammal species in the aquarium's collection. This exhibit includes beluga whales in the aquarium's second largest habitat (after Ocean Voyager), sea otters, Japanese spider crabs, weedy sea dragons, and African penguins.
The largest exhibit, Ocean Voyager built by Home Depot, contains 6.3 million US gallons (24,000 m3) of water and several thousand fish. It measures 284 ft × 126 ft (87 m × 38 m) and the depth ranges between 20 and 30 ft (6.1 and 9.1 m), making it the largest indoor aquatic habitat in the world. This exhibit is designed to feature the life of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System and showcases the aquarium's whale sharks, as well as a 100 ft (30 m) underwater tunnel and one of the world's largest viewing windows.
The fifth exhibit, Tropical Diver, features mainly Indo-Pacific tropical fish. The largest habitat in the exhibit is a 164,000-US-gallon (620,000 L) reef featuring many species of fish. The aquarium also cultivates its own live coral, some of which can be seen on this large reef. Other animals in this gallery include seahorses, garden eels, jellyfish, clownfish,blue-spotted stingray, shrimp, lobsters, turkeyfish, and many other tropical fishes.
The sixth exhibit, SunTrust Pier 225, is for sea lions. It opened in the Spring of 2016, replacing the Suntrust Georgia Explorer gallery.
The seventh exhibit, Aquanaut Adventure: A Discovery Zone, is Georgia Aquarium's newest gallery containing several smaller exhibits and multiple hands-on activities, including an augmented reality scavenger hunt using the aquarium's mobile app.
The aquarium also features a "4D" movie and a virtual reality simulator which takes guests on a trip through prehistoric seas (for an additional fee).
Also, in 2009, the "Titanic Aquatic" exhibit opened, which features a walk-through of what it was like on the ship RMS Titanic. The exhibit was at the aquarium until September 7, 2009. The Georgia Aquarium then hosted the world debut of Planet Shark: Predator or Prey: The Exhibition. The exhibit focused on dispelling myths and sharing facts to help create a better understanding of sharks. It was open through April 2011, and featured shark jaws, teeth and fossils, full scale shark models made from real specimens and more