Our favorite of all the aquariums we have ever visited is Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Here, visitors of all ages can enjoy a full day of wonder and learning. Even the walkway to the entrance is flanked by great one-sentence facts about marine animals so that they can easily be read by people eager to get inside.
As soon as we entered, a colorful tank of beautiful fish greeted us. Then, we came to the large indoor playground with so many climbing and crawl-through possibilities for fun exercises, all beneath enormous skeletons of extinct prehistoric giant water animals above us.
We entered at the upper level, where we enjoyed many tanks of unusual and wonderful creatures. Among them were schooling fish, moray eels, flounder, and many more. We were eager to see the feedings listed on our schedule, however, so we headed down to the lower level.
We entered the tunnel through the Shark Lagoon just in time to see the diver feed the ferocious-looking fish. The tank holds several varieties and we thought the diver was very brave, but these large marine animals knew he had the food they wanted. The tank also contains some mammals and sawfish, also called carpenter sharks. Fish of all kinds as well as some turtles swam over and around us as we passed through.
We emerged to view the large coral reef and stop at the Discovery Center, where adults and children can touch some of the harmless sea specimens, such as horseshoe crabs. Signs to wash hands and pumps filled with antibacterial hand sanitizer awaited when we were finished.
Our next stop was everyone’s favorite, Penguin Playhouse, where we were just in time to watch these tuxedoed creatures feed. Penguins swim underwater like fish, but they are mammals, so must come up for air. And they walk like ducks on webbed feet.
