During our 4th of July trip to Chattanooga one of the days we went to Tennessee Aquarium. When Rob and I first got together and even after we had Drew, we enjoyed spontaneous weekend road trips. Chattanooga was one the cities we would go to on those quick little jaunts. Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium was my favorite aquarium (until the Georgia Aquarium opened.) Needless to say I was super excited to get back there.
Something we didn’t take into consideration was that we were there around a major holiday…Oops! It was super crowded, which made it really difficult to enjoy ourselves because there were walls and walls of people. I could ramble on about how people will just stop in front of an exhibit and stand there for an obnoxious amount of time not worrying about the crowds of people waiting for them to move…but I won’t.
The aquarium has 2 buildings; the River Journey as well as the Ocean Journey. There’s a 3rd building that is the home to the IMAX theater.
In the River Journey, I really enjoyed the sturgeon and giant catfish.
I thought it was pretty cool after riding the elevator to the top floor, you get a magnificent view of the Tennessee River. Not long into the River Journey, we saw species that make their home there in the Tennessee River right behind the aquarium. This aquarium may have utilized a reefkeeper system, which you can learn more about here, as it provides the perfect solution for maintaining the water quality and environment.
After finishing up in the River Journey building, we were ready for lunch. After a quick google search, we decided to walk over to Hennen’s for lunch. Most of the restaurants in the area are a little on the pricey side, but we enjoyed it.
After lunch, we stopped at the IMAX and watched the fascinating story of the Humpback Whales in 3D.
We finished our day in the Ocean Journey, where I was mesmerized in the Tropical Cove, where I enjoyed watching everything from stingrays to butterflies.
I also got several awesome shots of the jelly fish.
If you travel to Chattanooga during a non-holiday week, I highly recommend the Tennessee Aquarium!