By Glennis Lofland, contributor
From VA to GA is a bimonthly column by M.F.A in Writing student Glennis Lofland, a Virginia native still settling into her new home of Atlanta. Between SCAD deadlines, she explores the city’s sights for the typical, quirky and weird, wondering which Peachtree street she’s on and why it’s called “Hotlanta.”
Look up a list of top ten things to do in Atlanta and chances are the Georgia Aquarium is on there. Why? With a 6.3-million gallon tank housing four whale sharks, four manta rays, and an entire complex filled with over 100,000 different species of marine life, it’s the largest aquarium in the world. So it’s not the ocean, but it’s as close as humanly possible.
I’m usually not a fan of places where wild animals are kept in captivity for us to ogle (read: zoos and aquariums), but the Georgia Aquarium is like the Empire State building in NYC—you just have to go your first time in the city. As a newcomer, it was definitely one of those things I had to do in my “I’m still a tourist” phase, especially with my birthday in this quarter. Fun fact: Georgia residents get free admission to the Georgia Aquarium on their birthday. Since I have yet to change my driver’s license, I had to show a copy of my lease, but that’s $30 I didn’t have to pay, and yes, the Dolphin Show was still included.
I was amazed. The place is vast, but organized into five separate sections: Georgia Explorer, Tropical Diver, Ocean Voyager, Cold Water Quest and River Scout. All of them are visually interesting and highly informative (I had no idea the venomous lionfish is invading the coasts of Georgia as we speak), but the most exciting exhibits were Ocean Voyager and Cold Water Quest. That 6.3 million gallon tank I mentioned earlier? The one with the manta rays and the whale sharks and what has to be thousands of other ocean fishies bobbing and swimming around in a vast, almost-ocean of blue? That’s in the Ocean Voyager exhibit. After you walk through the 100-foot underwater tunnel with stingrays and sharks and turtles gliding overhead, you come to the giant glass wall—you know the wall—where you stand and gaze into that blueness, making eye-contact with the goliath groupers and trevally jacks and the manta ray that drifts by occasionally. You will lose track of time and you will be tempted to press your nose to the glass like the five-year-old standing next to you with the exact same expression on her face.
Cold Water Quest is equally fascinating, with cute little penguins and otters and scary, spider-like Japanese crabs by the entrance, but it’s the Beluga Whales that steal the show. These beautiful, white mammals are playful, self-aware creatures that show off to the crowd, sweeping across the glass blowing bubbles with their mouths and playing with their toys. Just be aware, they can see you. They swim right up to the glass to check out the crowd, which makes you wonder which one of you is the attraction.
As the brainchild of Atlanta businessman Bernard Marcus, who donated $250 million to build an aquarium in Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium is fantastic and I am ready to go back. But I might have to wait until my next birthday rolls around.
The Georgia Aquarium is open 365 days of the year and the entrance fee is $29.95 weekdays, $34.95 on weekends. That’s admission to everything—exhibits, shows and galleries. Georgia residents get in free on their birthday, with proof of residency (driver’s license or current lease).