Aquarium of the Smokies teems with life!
Take a deep breath and dive into fun that awaits you at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. Tucked in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, the aquarium offers up-close views of 10,000 exotic sea creatures through interactive exhibits.
Interesting fact: There are more fish in the aquarium than there are people living in Gatlinburg. More than 350 species of creatures big and small are located inside the facility. Although Ripley’s Aquarium is hundreds of miles from the ocean, the beauty and abundance of water inside the space make for a watery adventure for the entire family.
The Tropical Rainforest display recreates the primeval, lush world of the Rainforest where more than 2,000 species of fish thrive. Discover freshwater stingrays, cardinal tetras, four-eyed fish, poison dart frogs, zebra cichlids, armored catfish, piranhas, mudskippers and more. See for yourself the piranhas, stingrays, armored catfish and lots of other exotic freshwater species found in the Amazon River display, which moves more than 4 million cubic feet of water per second.
The bright colors of the rainbow are found underwater in the Indo-Pacific coral reef. View thousands of fish in brightly-colored hues from the tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean as they swim around and through the delicate reef structure. The realistic reefs are all hand-crafted replicas as to not disrupt the coral in its natural habitat. Watch divers hand-feed the fish throughout the day during the dive shows.
A collection of delicate undersea life such as Pacific Giant Octopus, sea anemones, living corals, jellies and weedy sea dragons are featured as art in The Living Gallery. Coral reefs are a vibrant underwater oasis which provides protection to all types of marine life. Some of the “plants” that flow back and forth in the currents are not plants at all, they are actually animals. View many of these plant-like animals that depend on the sun for nutrition such as the giant clam, hammer corals, and brain corals to name a few.
A number of hands-on opportunities are also featured at the aquarium, especially at The Sea-For-Yourself Discovery Center where you can have the thrill of holding horseshoe crabs and other out-of-the-ordinary experiences. At Touch-A-Ray Bay, patrons can reach out and touch stingrays in the shallow lagoons. The aquarium remains open 365 days a year and opens daily at 9 a.m.
Posted by Leah M. Caudle
