Living in a coastal state, I have always had a fascination with sea life. Visiting the Georgia Aquarium while in Atlanta recently was high on my priority list!
While there, we took in both the sea lion and dolphin performances, but the true star of the show for me was the whale shark exhibit.
The aquarium is the only institution outside of Asia that houses whale sharks. After one look at these breathtaking creatures, it is easy to see why the aquarium, as a whole, was designed around the whale shark exhibit – one that contains 6.3 million gallons of water!
I immediately fell in love with the whale sharks. I am sure many visitors to the aquarium feel the same. Their sheer size is overwhelming! It is the largest fish in the world and the largest fish known to have lived on this planet! Their average length is between 18 and 32.8 feet and the largest accurately measured whale shark was 61.7 feet!
The Georgia Aquarium sits on 13 acres in downtown Atlanta on land donated by The Coca-Cola Company. It contains more than one hundred thousand animals, representing 700 species of fish and other sea creatures. It opened in 2005 as the largest aquarium in the world!
The Aquarium’s notable specimens include whale sharks, beluga whales, California sea lions, bottlenose dolphins, and manta rays. My favorites? Whale sharks were number one by a landslide, but I also loved the penguins and the jellyfish. The penguins were in an exhibit were you could actually go nose-to-nose (beak to beak?) with them! It was very cool! And, the jellyfish, though very common in Connecticut, are not displayed in nature against a beautiful deep blue background like they are in the aquarium! They look like works of art!
The Georgia Aquarium did not disappoint! I hope you enjoyed seeing a little peek from my visit on today’s Friday field trip.
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie