Visiting the Tennessee Aquarium!

Last month I had the opportunity to go take a break from school and spend a week or so with my family down in Tennessee! As you might imagine, I had a lot of fun doing so...and one of the many fun things we did together was visit the Tennessee Aquarium!

Hands down, the Aquarium is Chattanooga's star attraction, even over Point Park or Chickamauga in my opinion. It is such high quality and I really really love seeing all the animals there! My parents have taken me there many a time in the last eleven years or so and it is always such a pleasure to visit. One fun thing that we did on this visit was to hit up as many of the keeper talks as possible. I had not realized until recently that the Tennessee Aquarium has keepers and divers come into their exhibits multiple times a day - not just to feed the animals, but also to educate the public about the creatures. My family and I had never attended any of the talks, and doing so on this visit was so much fun. Great 10-15 minute chats on lemurs, penguins, sharks, river otters, and turtles. Hopefully someday we can go back and attend the talk on alligators!

Anyways, as you might imagine I filmed the talks...but in between greatly enjoyed taking still photos, too. Here are some of my favorite shots! Enjoy! :)

 The "Cove Forest" of lemurs (two species!!), fish, flowers, and stingrays is where you begin your tour in the "Ocean Journey" building.

 I love the tanks that have windows on their walls, because then I feel like I am underwater without having to get wet!!

Love their long ringed tails! Such cute little guys! I wanna get one for a pet.... :D

 I always make sure to pay a visit to the butterfly garden while I am there! So delightful to take photos of the winged beauties and their colorful perches.

 Next up are the penguins! Things might seen calm and serene up top...but it's anything but calm below the surface!

 Love the sense of awe, curiosity, and wonder in this little guy's eyes. Teach 'em young...and when they grow old, they won't depart from their ways!

 Sharks! This was by far one of my favorite keeper talks. Loved hearing about the behavioral differences between the sandbar and sandtiger sharks...and that the diver kindly answered my question!!

 Once again, I really enjoyed capturing this shot of this little girl interacting with the tank. The more I delve into photography, the more I realize just how much I enjoy capturing candid portraits of people interacting with their environment. Just has something that simple landscapes do not...

Top dog coming through...

 I had never noticed before that the Tennessee Aquarium had a Giant Pacific Octopus!! So cool to see it this time (above). Below, the orange/yellow sea nettle is pretty much an icon of the Aquarium. I've taken photos before, but just couldn't help myself taking a few more ;)

 River Journey building! Making our way through an Appalachian forest...we encounter river otters!! So fun to watch. I think if I had to be an animal, I'd be a black bear, sea or river otter, or lab dog. ;D Greatly enjoyed the talk, but the little guys were tricky to photograph! Below is one of my better shots...(thanks to the "sport" setting on my camera with rapid fire!!)

Such an incredibly fun place! Hope you enjoyed my little photo tour. Until the next time...