Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga

To be honest, I don't know a lot about Chattanooga. I went there for the first time recently for a ball game, and to check out the Aquarium.

I love fish and aquatic critters. I could look at them all day long. I don't tell everyone this, but I spent several years raising fish. I moved my bed out of my bedroom once growing up so I could put more fish tanks in my room! Seriously!

So, here are some pictures I took while spending a day at this aquarium. This one seemed very large, and had many unique displays. There were friendly staff everywhere. Let me emphasise the "friendly staff" mention. The staff were telling people about the animals, explaining traits, and answering questions-unlike some attracts where clueless staff are there to discourage visitors. I loved the staff here.

We caught a couple of presentations and Q&A sessions during feedings. That was cool. We walked by a talk and yet another friendly staff person encouraged us to stick around for a session.

We saw the coolest huge turtle swimming (pictured). He swam by many times, and looked at us the same way we looked at him- curiously. I bet we watched him for half an hour. He was popular too, he had some fish following him.

I know, a lot of people think all aquariums are the same, and I understand that feeling. The staff at this one stood out. Also, I felt that the facility was more spacious. I did not feel crowded at this site.

Oh, and we did go see a movie at their IMAX theater. It was called Dolphins and Whales in 3D. Seeing this on the several story IMAX screen in 3D was surreal. The animals truly appeared in 3D. This was an experience that you could not duplicate on your TV screen.

The walkways around the museum are curvy and broken up around the museum on purpose. It almost looks like a movie set for a movie about an earthquake. It is pretty cool. I saw several skaters taking advantage of the odd shaped fixtures.

This is a pretty area too. There are many parking garages and other areas that offer a great view of the city. It is a pig, urban area, but there is still plenty of green to appreciate.

The Bluff View Art District was a lot of fun too. I had some great coffee at a couple of cool, casual coffee shops, and I found a couple of obscure books in the local independent book shops.