The Georgia Aquarium

Waiting for the show to begin!

The Georgia Aquarium houses 120,000 animals, representing 500 species, in 8.5 million US gallons of marine and fresh water; it was the world's largest aquarium when it opened in 2005.

Daddy and Roman 2008

My boys!

The stage for "Dolphin Tale"

What was suppose to be a trip to the childrens museum, turned into an impromptu trip to the aquarium. We were headed for a free target tuesday at the museum, but because it was spring break, there was an actual line around the block to get in! Panic set in as Roman realized we might not go to the museum, so we crossed the street and headed to the aquarium  The last time we were here was back in 2008, while I was pregnant with noah, just a few short later we were back, with 3 more! WEIRD! Also, the last time we were there was while we were visiting my husbands family, but this time we were actually living here as well. So strange how things can change so much in such a short amount of time!

Roman

The Georgia Aquarium

One of the stars of "Dolphin Tale!" 

225 Baker Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30313
(404)581-4151

Beluga whales

We started our day at a new show called "Dolphin Tale." It was very cute, but I did kinda wish it had more dolphin/audiance interaction. For the really little crowd, it kinda drug on with a little too much dialog. When the dolphins did come out and do their tricks durring the musical numbers Noah found it to be quite hysterical. It was sweet to watch! There were some tears shed when the house lights would go dark during the "stormy" scenes. But they were quick to recover :)
After exiting the show you come into the main floor of the aquirium. There are different areas sectioned off by theme. There is also an interactive play yard for the kids where you can even pet stingrays :) 

Noah and Sea Otters

Watching them take penguin vitals

Walking through the tank

Lydia

One of the highlights of the visit was the large aquarium that has a long tube that runs through the center. As you look up you see over a thousand different underwater species swimming over your head. There is a conveyor belt you can stand on as it slowly guides you through so you can take it all in. Its pretty cool!

Whale

Noah

3 amigos

Daddy

Admiring the sea life

 My personal favorite part is the observation area, where there is a stadium style seating and an aquarium that goes from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. You instantly feel 2 feet tall as you just gaze into the water. From the seating area you can sit there for quite some time and just watch all the animals swimming around as majestic music plays overhead. Sting rays, whales, sharks, and thousands of fish, swimming in schools, it really is beautiful.

Look, a shark!

up close 

They Look so small compared to the tank!

Roman, Lydia and a Tuna!

Noah and some tropical fish

My family, minus 1 

Theres another part of the aquarium where they have the same type of set up as the observation tank, just on a smaller scale. Because these fish are all tropical, they are bright in color and most small in size. Noah and Lydia seemed to like this themed aquarium as these fish were quick moving, zipping all over the tank...

So colorful

My boys!

Noah

Small, medium, large

What a fun day!

We will be back again, maybe in a couple years when the littler ones grow up a bit more. Tickets are pricey in my opinion, but I do see specials on groupon during the colder months. I would make this one of my top spots to check out when visiting Atlanta, even if you don't have children. Fun for any aged animal lover!

Time to go home!