Skip the Georgia Aquarium

[alarimer]

I am in Atlanta for a few days and I decided to visit the aquarium because I had never seen it and I have been to many others across the country.

It was not worth the $40 entrance fee. Plus $10 for parking.

For one thing, crowd management is terrible, especially in the main ocean exhibit, which has a tunnel and a moving sidewalk. But this creates a huge bottleneck at the entrance.

The exhibits are also very small, with almost no scientific information presented. They barely even identify the species in the tanks. There is no discussion of ecology of various habitats and how they are all linked. And certainly no discussion of major issues facing the ocean, like overfishing, pollution, climate change, or habitat destruction. It was all shallow entertainment. For example, there is one tank devoted to African cichlids. But no discussion of why there are so many different species and why there are different species in each lake. I get that people don't want to read walls of text, but this is so dumbed down, it is insulting.

I have my suspicions as to why climate change is never mentioned. Georgia Pacific and other corporations are major sponsors and major culprits of environmental destruction, so I guess that's one reason. Also, I guess they are avoiding mention of controversial topics because Georgia is a conservative state. It's a shame, really, because these places are touted as educational institutions. Not this one, that's for sure.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Georgia Pacific is a Koch subsidiary.

That might be at least a partial explanation.

[ailsagirl]

2. Forty bucks is a bit... steep

Perhaps if it was a fantastic experience, it might be acceptable but...since it wasn't

Georgia Pacific??? Forget it!!

[Hoyt]

3. Went to Chattanooga aquarium a few months ago. The butterfly room was worth the admission.

[csziggy]

4. My husband goes some years when he's at DragonCon

I think the DragonCon attendees get passes or something since it's never shown up on the credit card receipts. He's never told me much about it - which he would have if it were really good.