This month we touched a jellyfish, walked underneath a hammer head shark swimming right along above us and stood in awe at the weirdly awesome body of the sea horse dragon.  And oh yes, we saw an octopus.

 

 

I heart aquariums.

(I also heart honesty and I’ll do my best to keep you guys informed – so, you should know that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the links, I’ll receive compensation.)

We spent a week in the Tennessee mountains earlier this month and had the incredible opportunity to visit Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in downtown Gatlinburg and spend a day exploring the aquarium so we could write a review about all that we saw and did there.

You guys – it’s just so cool.

 

 

After seeing all of the news coverage about the terrible fires that destroyed so many homes and businesses in the mountain town recently, I was anxious to see first hand how the city fared.  You could see literal burned wood around the edges of the aquarium’s parking lot and I cannot imagine how close of a call it was for the safety of all of the people and also for the animals at the aquarium.

The day we visited was a weekday in early January and for us, that couldn’t have been more perfect.  Weekdays are almost always less crowded, and while there were plenty of guests in attendance, it was so pleasant to not be elbow to elbow with strangers and to know that we could spend as long as we liked gazing at the odd giant lobster/crab creature or admiring the most adorable penguins.  I recommend trying to visit most all attractions on weekdays with your children.

 

 

The aquarium is easy to find and easy to park in the garage (but you do have to pay for parking) and easy to navigate right through at the beginning.

It’s hard to find anything negative to say about giant fish tanks filled with beautiful fish and touch tanks with rays and jellyfish and places to watch penguins and every other sea creature you could ever imagine – and dozens you’d probably rather not imagine.

 

 

One of my favorite aspects of visiting aquariums is that it is an activity that absolutely every age enjoys.  Toddlers, teenagers – you name it.

We got there just in time to begin our tour with a shark feeding.  Those animals are plenty well-fed, that’s for sure.  Which is nice, because they’re still kind of creepy and I’d rather they never feel hungry for the people leaning over their area and admiring their sharky ways.  London and I did ask one of the aquarium employees how many cell phones dropped into the open waters and they laughed and said “plenty”.  We also couldn’t help but ask if any people had ever fallen in.  She assured us that no guest ever had, but employees had.  Hazard of the job, I suppose?

 

 

For everyone at our house, except maybe Hawkeye, the best part of the aquarium is the tunnel.  If you’ve never been, you really must go.  You get to walk (or ride this handy slow moving conveyor belt) directly under the aquarium’s tank full of all the sea creatures.  It’s marvelous to watch them swim over you – to see their movements from that angle.  To witness their amazing fins and tails in action.  It’s astounding the variations of sea life and the subtle differences in all of the bazillions of fish that exist.  (I’m so technical.  Bazillions.)

 

 

 

We also are suckers for the cool tanks you get to pop up in the middle of.  But seriously, it’s not just amusing – it’s so unusual to be up close and personal to the fish.  The color variety is incredible.  It seems impossible to imagine all of that glorious color just existing underwater, living and moving and eating and swimming.  I like being inches away from their bright colors and their funky shapes.  So many of them just look downright funny in their stripes and flat circles or bloats mouths or perfectly circular bodies.

 

 

The penguin exhibit at Ripley’s is really well done.  You actually can even step outside and stand under one of the tanks in this certain way that allows the penguins to burst forth in swimming directly above your head, but in a way that feels like they are swimming straight toward you.  You feel somehow in the tank with them.  That was my favorite moment, I  think.  The first time it happened that a penguin shot toward me and went directly above my head, I jumped.  I hadn’t realized the angle of the tank allowed for such an immediate view of them.  Plus, penguins look so different when they swim.  So fluid and fast.  Also – one penguin was named Riley and was celebrating its birthday in January.  The penguins all wore tiny little name tags.  The kids and I got a real kick out of reading their names, which varied hilariously from names like Mike to names like Rowdy.  I’d be perfectly content to have a side job naming penguins.  Where do I apply?

 

 

There is a snack bar inside the aquarium, but although the kids asked – of course, what kid can refuse the temptation of Icees? – I said no.  Aquariums pretty much smell like fish to me and I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy dining there, although I’m sure it was perfectly acceptable.

Naturally, you have to exit through the gift shop.  Who ever created that genius marketing scheme anyway?  Surely not a parent.  It wasn’t too bad, however, for an aquarium gift shop.  The stuffed animals were cute and not really overpriced.  It’s actually where we found a fedora that fit Berg’s head.  And was surprisingly cheap.  Who knew?  (Why has my eleven-year-old been wanting a fedora?  I don’t know.  Ask my brother.  Or Bergen’s friend Beckett.  I think they’re both to blame.)

There were several touch tanks through the aquarium.  You could touch horseshoe crabs – who did not seem to care one ounce what was happening in their lives.  You could touch various rays.  Which, as a toddler visiting this same aquarium, Mosely adored.  And – you could touch jellyfish.  That was super cool and a little bizarre.  The aquarium staff keeps the jellyfish extra cold so that all of the people touching them won’t damage their gel-like “skin”.  They felt sort of rubbery and smooth.  As weird as jellyfish are, and as painful as their sting can be, they’re kind of fantastic to look at as they glide and float through the water.

 

 

We’ve visited the new aquarium in Georgia too and I think this Ripley’s Aquarium gives it a great run for its money.  Actually, I think I prefer Ripley’s to the Georgia one.  Ripley’s does lack that one gigantic tank with the huge shark or whale – I forget what is there – but otherwise, I’d pick Ripley’s if I was forced to choose.  From our house, the distance to Gatlinburg is less and the cost is also less.  Two strong factors.  But also, the Ripley’s Aquarium is just a day well-spent.  It’s a truly wonderful experience.

 

 

I really do love the aquarium.  I could sit and watch the fish in the overhead tank for longer periods of time than most of my kids.  Except perhaps Otto.  He’s got a remarkable attention span if the word “fish” is involved.

If you make it over the mountain to Tennessee, tell Sally we said hello.  She’s a tremendously huge turtle.  Trust me, you can’t miss her.

 

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