The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world, with tens of thousands of fish, 6.3 million gallons, and 100,000 sea creatures. It has many types of fish and was built on 1,115 square meters, and its construction cost amounted to 290 million dollars. The Georgia Aquarium was not this famous for nothing and its construction was not an easy task. In order to reach this level.
It contained special specifications in its construction, including 290 plumbing fixtures and 200 floor drains, and 53 ceiling drains connected to underground pipes 1.5 miles long and above ground pipes 5.5 miles long 10,000 yards of concrete and 2,500 perforated piles, the Habitat exhibit contains more than half of the aquarium’s water 263 feet wide and 126 feet deep.
Location and History of the Georgia Aquarium
The aquarium is located in downtown Atlanta on land donated by the Coca-Cola Company just north of Centennial Olympic Park. It features a blue glass and metal facade. The aquarium was the largest when it opened in November 2005, originally covering 550,000 square feet of covered space and holding 8 million US gallons (30 million liters) of fresh and salt water.
Bernard Marcus came up with the idea of building the aquarium, with the vision that building an aquarium would encourage education and economic growth. This idea came after he visited more than one country with aquariums, as he visited approximately 56 aquariums. He donated a large sum of approximately $150 million to help build it. Institutional contributions, totaling $40 million, also allowed the aquarium to open debt-free.
The aquarium’s CEO, Jeff Swangan, was hired as the aquarium’s first employee in 2002 and continued to work until 2008. He is largely credited with creating the aquarium, from designing the structure to purchasing animals for exhibits. After 27 months of construction, the aquarium opened with 60 animal habitats. Although the non-profit aquarium’s admission fees are among the highest in the United States, attendance on opening day far exceeded expectations, with nearly a million visitors in its first 100 days. The turnout did not stop there, reaching nearly three million visitors by August 2006.
The aquarium became part of the Aquarium Channel’s Affiliations and Gardens Association program in 2019, where the aquarium premiered, documenting its care for animal conservation. We know that such actions can negatively impact some animals, so there was special care for the work and conservation of the animals after the show ended, which ran for nearly two seasons and 20 episodes. It began on the Discovery Channel in partnership with the service to produce more.
The strangest marine creatures in the Georgia Aquarium
The Georgia Aquarium contains important and strange types of fish. The most important of these types in this aquarium are the following:
- Four types of sharks, four other types of beluga, and four types of lip fish, one of which weighs 120 kilograms and is three meters long.
- The Georgia Aquarium is the only one that contains whale sharks outside Asia and takes up a very large area of the aquarium and is placed in this aquarium in an area of 24,000 cubic meters of water and has many different sharks.
- It also contains a large number of strange turtles in addition to dolphins.
- One of the strange creatures that this aquarium contains is the piranha fish, which is known for its sharp teeth and strong appetite for meat.
- The electric fish is a fish capable of creating an electric field to shock its prey while living in the water.
- The African penguin, which is described as the black-footed penguin and is also called the donkey because of its sound that resembles it.
- There is also the Japanese crab or spider that lives in the waters around Japan, which is 3.8 meters long and weighs 19 kg.
- The squid is not a fish, but a gelatinous animal that is distinguished by being the smartest invertebrate animal. It has two large eyes with large pupils in the shape of the letter W. It also has eight legs and two claws that contain suckers on the inside.
What distinguishes the Georgia Aquarium?
The Georgia Aquarium is not only a place to watch the amazing and diverse aquatic life, but it is a great place for you and your family to enjoy and spend a good time with your loved ones. It is the right place to ignite the spark of passion with those close to you by spending a romantic evening with each other as if you were swimming in the ocean. It is also special because of the strange fish it contains.
Visitor Activities at Georgia Aquarium
When visiting Georgia Aquarium, do not forget to do many different activities such as taking souvenir photos with aquatic animals. You can also educate yourself about the aquatic world by reading information about the life of each animal that is available inside the aquarium, wandering through the eight exhibition halls and seeing all the fish and how they play in the water. You can meet aquatic animals such as sea otters, penguins and dolphins. You can also eat and drink from the restaurants available there.
Tickets and the best times to visit Georgia Aquarium
Georgia Aquarium is open every day from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm, and the ticket price is about $ 68. Tickets are booked through the official Georgia Aquarium website.
FAQs about Georgia Aquarium
- Is Georgia Aquarium the biggest in the world?
It is not currently the largest in the world, but it is the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
- How many whale sharks have died at the Georgia Aquarium?
Two male sharks previously at the Georgia Aquarium, Ralph and Norton, died in 2007, Trixie died in 2020, and Alice died in 2021. All of Georgia’s whale sharks were imported from Taiwan.
- How long does it take to hatch Georgia Aquarium?
You need a full day to enjoy your visit to the Georgia Aquarium. This place is distinguished by the wonderful services it provides to the visitor, as entry is direct without waiting, as well as for all eight exhibitions.
Here we have reached the end after providing you with all the information related to the Georgia Aquarium, where we presented a glimpse of the history and location of the aquarium, as we mentioned to you the strangest fish inside the aquarium and learned about the most important activities that you can do.
