We love the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, TN. Not only is it a great place to visit if you are vacationing in the area, but it also offers wonderful programs for those in the region.
The Aquarium has two buildings. The oldest building is mainly focused on freshwater and is called the River Journey. However, it does contain some salt water exhibits as it was the only building for a few years.
Elephant Nose in the River Journey
The newest building is focused saltwater and is called the Ocean Journey. It has a variety of exhibits from butterflies to penguins to jellyfish. Of course, its center (literally) is a very large salt water tank. You can often find volunteer divers here answering visitors questions while underwater with the sharks.
They have all kinds of educational opportunities from summer camps to weekend programs and materials for home school.
They even host an annual Home School Day that gives discounts on admission, behind the scene tours, and gift shop items. This year they had a scavenger hunt for the students. They were given questions to answer as they toured the aquarium.
We were able to take advantage of the discounted Behind The Scenes tour. It was fantastic. We were lucky enough to get to see them feeding the fish in the Ocean Journey’s main tank.
Fish Food
Fish and Shark Waiting to be Fed
This and the scavenger hunt were my daughter’s favorite parts of the day. She was engaged and asked thoughtful questions of our Behind The Scenes tour guide given that she is five.
The staff and many volunteers are very friendly and helpful throughout the aquarium and the related facilities, the I-MAX theater and River Gorge Explorer boat. The boat is very unusual to find on a river. It is a high speed catamaran and truly something you should not miss if you are in the area.
According to their website, the Tennessee Aquarium is the highest rated in America for guest satisfaction, and I believe it. It is a gem and truly wonderful for a home school family.
