Surf’s up!
Undersea adventure awaits at the Tennessee Aquarium

The Tennessee Aquarium — a cool day trip that beats the summer heat — opened its new Ocean Journey feature April 29. It includes 10-foot sharks, barracuda and stingrays, which glide through numerous formations which were created by pressing molds into wet concrete and then painted to replicate coral. “I think that the aquarium is the best reason to visit Chattanooga,” said Shari Hicks of Chattanooga. “It is very kid friendly. It has revitalized the waterfront and brought life back to areas in town that you would not have wanted to visit 20 years ago. I am proud of our town now with so many great tourist attractions. Downtown Chattanooga seems to have new life now that the new area is open.”

The $30 million expansion of the Aquarium added 700,000 gallons of saltwater exhibits — and a new building — to what is currently the world’s largest freshwater aquarium. The River Journey exhibit has been open since 1992 and holds 400,000 gallons of water.

“I was very impressed with the realism of the artificial reef,” said visitor Mike Ritchie of Hixson, Tenn. “And I liked the fact that they combined three exhibits in one building — the butterflies, saltwater aquarium and petting area. I enjoyed the new saltwater aquarium, but I’d have to say I prefer the river systems aquarium more. My favorite part of the new section was the feeling of being under the reef looking up at the sharks and other aquatic life.”

According to Katrina Craven, public relations coordinator for the Tennessee Aquarium, the interactive element of the exhibits generates the greatest amount of interest from visitors of all ages.

“The inspiration for the Ocean Journey exhibit came from our guests,” Craven said. “We constantly survey our guests and what we heard over and over again is that they wanted more saltwater, more big sharks and more interaction with the exhibits.”

Among the galleries showcasing cuttlefish, jellyfish, a rainforest under glass and a butterfly garden, visitors can experience a tropical beach with 100 feet of shoreline where they can touch bamboo sharks and stingrays.

“My kids’ favorite was the area where you could touch the stingrays, and they also loved seeing the two sharks in the big tank,” Hicks said. “They were so close that they could see the rows of teeth that sharks have. My favorite part was the butterfly habitat. You really had to spend some time in there to realize how many butterflies were there — they blended in with the beautiful plants and flowers. My kids loved the area where you could view the cocoons in various stages of maturity.”

With many of the world’s oceans and rainforests facing the increasing threat of industrial harm, Craven said she hopes the aquarium’s patrons will gain a new appreciation of nature’s beauty, both above and below sea level. “With all of our exhibits, we’re trying to foster good times and we hope our guests enjoy themselves,” she said, “but we want them to take away a real connec- tion with the natural world. We want them to have the feeling of being surrounded and to realize how interconnected we are. What they do here can affect everything in the Tennessee River System to the Gulf of Mexico and down to the Flower Garden Banks.”