Tennessee Aquarium
add photosThe Tennessee Aquarium takes visitors through three living forests under glass and puts them eye to eye with 10-foot sharks, giant spider crabs, river otters and alligators.
26 Reviews for Tennessee Aquarium
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'11, '12, '130 families found this helpful
"Worth the trip"
I've always loved the Tennessee Aquarium, and now it has grown even larger! Chloe, my little naturalist, just can't get enough. Despite having been to the Monterey Aquarium just a month earlier, she had to find every turtle, fish and sea horse there. She loved the touch pool. Unfortunately, we only had a fleeting glimpse of the sea otters. Both girls liked the "bubble heads", but Chloe found the other kids to be a bit pushy. Next time, the girls want to bring swimsuits to play in the "waterpark" out from of the aquarium.
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"Beat the heat"
This aquarium is a great place for the entire family. I mean grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even a brother or sister if you dare. They have easy access elevators and escalators with the paths sloping in and out of the exhibits making strollers and wheelchairs easy to maneuver. We have been here more times than I care to count and we never grow tired of watching the well taken car of animals. During school breaks, they have extra shows and activities like feeding shrimp to sting rays, dive shows, and bird shows. But they have great shows everyday. We love going on cloudy days or late in the evening when animals like the otters perk up. The penguins and butterflies in Ocean Journey building are a do not miss.
Doing both buildings in a day is doable, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you have plenty of time and energy. Ocean Journey building is the more exciting of the two and smaller. Great for an hour or two visit.
River Journey has the Ranger Rick shows in the bottom level with all sorts of animal encounters. This building wears me out. If you pass a bathroom, ask the kiddos if they've got to go! We've had times where we were running with a kid trying to weave in and out of galleries and trying to find elevators to a bathroom. They ARE NOT available in every gallery on every floor. Those who have potty trainers have been warned. :)
If the price scares you, look into a group year pass even if you are going just once, sometimes it is cheaper if you have a large enough group. Homeschool days and other events also allow for discounts. Great family outing and I wouldn't hesitate going with anyone. Something for everyone to love.
0 families found this helpful
"Not impressed"
Compared to other aquariums- this one seems dark to me. Maybe it's cause it is older but seems not as interactive. Who knows though-- maybe they've changed things recently. However, a plus is its in Chattanooga and there is TONS to do in that city-- especially for children.
0 families found this helpful
"aquarium"
We love this place. Not only it is located on the river with a beautiful outside scenes but also inside it is a wonderful aqua park full of life and creatures you will not need a lot of time to see everything so plan something else to see in the neighborhood. We had our4 y.o. son so the aquarium was more then enough, plus after we went for Ben&Jerry's ice cream shop located just on the corner.And this was just wonderful.
1 family found this helpful
"Big and fun!"
This is one of the best aquarium we've visited before. I admit that it's expensive when we all go, but it worth the money to spend all day long there with my family. My kids love the big aquarium to see all kinds of big and small fish, but I have to say their favorite is watching otters playing each other. We usually go there for the morning since it gets crowded in the afternoon, and then we go for lunch and then come back for more fun together.
1 family found this helpful
"Aquarium TN"
My oldest daughter Olivia loves this. You could look right above your head and there would be sharks and sting rays sea horses anything and everything was here and it was hands on we loved getting to touch the sting rays and taking pictures and learning things we never knew before. We will make sure we come back here with her sister this time. It is something the whole family will enjoy doing together.
0 families found this helpful
"Love it!"
This was such a fun outing! We thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium and the IMAX theater experience. The penguins were a big hit with our group. There were stations set up where you could touch animals. It was very impressive overall. We will definitely go again and take the kids!
0 families found this helpful
"Great day trip!"
This is am amazing aquarium. It is perfect for kids of all ages (but lots of walking - so take the stroller). It really takes an entire day to go through it - so enjoy it and take your time! Plus - it's within walking distance to lots of other destinations in downtown Chattanooga!
0 families found this helpful
"Beautiful Aquarium"
This aquarium has been my favorite to visit. It's so gorgeous inside and I love the way it's set up. It's a long ramp inside so the kids don't have to worry about climbing stairs. It's a ton of fun to see all the sea animals up close and in person. We were amazed at all the animals since the aquarium had many that we had never seen before. Easily spend all day here!
0 families found this helpful
"A good family outing "
We stayed near the aquarium in downtown chattanooga and enjoyed being able to walk their and to the other attractions nearby. Had I not also been to the Georgia Aquarium, then I would rank this higher, but this one did not have as many exhibits, or "big ticket" animals.
0 families found this helpful
"Fun for Everyone!"
The Tennessee Aquarium is located in Down Town Chattanooga, right along the Tennessee River. It is made up of two buildings and has some very interesting creatures. There are lots of huge viewing areas where you can see sharks and all kinds of other fish swimming about. They even now have penguins! They are so cute! The butterfly room is amazing and the butterflies will land right on you! My little boys favorite was the otters! You can see them from above or actually see them thru a glass wall! It is so neat! There is a tank where you can pet the sting-rays, and the staff is very informative. There are very cook water features outside the aquarium as well. It's a great place to have fun in the summer!
0 families found this helpful
"Fish"
Great place for families and easy to spend most of your day here. With two buildings full of things to see. It is amazing. You start out on a escalator that takes you to the top of the building and then walk you way down viewing some of the most amazing fish. Loved the butterfly room, Ray petting tank, and the sharks. There is even a lot to do outside the Aquarium. There are small streams and fountains all over the front area for kids to play in...adults too.If you go to the website they have some wonderful hotel deals where you get your Aquarium tickets and IMAX tickets included.
0 families found this helpful
"My FAVORITE Aquarium"
The Tennessee Aquarium is by far the best aquarium I have EVER visited. I love the fact that it has 3 separate buildings that is FILLED with wonderful aquatic exhibits. All the exhibits are set up so wonderfully. It provides a beautiful scenery that is filled with education and fun. I have traveled hours just to go visit it. It is my favorite!
0 families found this helpful
"Good day"
I took my 3 year old son to this aquarium and it was fun for him. Its not a place where we could go and spend all day but we stayed a couple hours. There are also very neat places to eat around it and the river is right behind it. There was some fun water spots to play in right outside the aquarium. The gift shop was also fun and cheap.
1 family found this helpful
"Huge, nice, and kids love it."
We've been to this Aquarium many times. It's a bit pricey but is really a great Aquarium. They have 2 huge buildings and not only have fish and other sea creatures, but they have a butterfly garden and some reptiles and amphibians. This aquarium takes a long time to go through so if you have to drive from very far to get here plan on only doing this or staying the night. I recommend buying your tickets online the day before, as the lines can get very long for purchasing tickets.
0 families found this helpful
"Tennessee Aquarium-a great bet for families!"
We live in Chattanooga and have enjoyed many visits to the Tennessee Aquarium. If you have small children, you might want to consider visiting one building in the morning, taking a lunch break and then returning for the second building. Another idea would be to check the website ahead of time to learn the times that different animals are being fed--esp. the penguins and river otters.
1 family found this helpful
"Not to be missed!"
If you can only do one activity in Chattanooga, this is it.
If this place were to have a drawback, this would be the sheer size of it - by the end, you might be skipping some of the exhibits because you've getting tired. Fortunately the layout gives you a lot of leeway to tailor your visit.
There is a "master path" that winds through the center of building. This alone will give you at least as much of the aquarium experience as most other places, but at almost every corner on every floor there is an extra path that takes you to a special exhibit. If you stop to view all of these you can plan on spending two or three hours inside. A nice feature of the main path is that it is on a moving sidewalk, so you can visit each exhibit and then get a short rest watching one of the huge main tanks while you are carried to the next one. If some of your party are tired or need a break, and the others want to keep going, you can also sit down and enjoy the main tank while the others go through one of the extra exhibits. This makes it a good place to take grandparents, toddlers, or others who might tire more easily than the rest of the family.
You will want to stop by the gift shop afterward. It has so many great souvenirs - the hardest part might be not buying all of the absolutely adorable plushes!
If there is a line to get in (which there usually isn't) or if your kids have some energy left to burn afterward, the area outside is a great one to play. There are things to climb on , a small stream, etc.
0 families found this helpful
"Super Fun Family Outing!"
Okay...being from the Atlanta area, I really wanted to believe that the Georgia Aquarium was going to be the best aquarium ever...but it's not. The Tennessee Aquarium is much more kid friendly, stroller accessible, and the outside wading pools for the kids are phenomenal! Chattanooga is such a family friendly location these days--and that's largely thanks to the Tennessee Aquarium!
0 families found this helpful
"Don't miss it!"
If your kids like all kids of animals and fish, don't miss this aquarium! There are two complete buildings, one focused on sea life and the other on rivers. You can take hours. My kids have loved it since they were babies in strollers (totally stroller accessible, except for the butterfly exhibit, where you can park them right outside). Don't miss the penguins, butterfly atrium, or jellyfish. You learn so much!!
0 families found this helpful
"fun for all ages"
We wen to the aquarium this summer and had a great time. We all love how open the area is. There are two aquariums, one is salt water and one is fresh water. When we went they were having a seahourse exibit which was so cool. There are also hands on activities where you can pet sharks and skates. The kids thought that was amazing. The butterfly exibit was also very hands on. Smell the purple flowers and see what they smell like.
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