In the two decades since the Georgia Aquarium opened in downtown Atlanta, it has nearly always had at least one “touch” pool that enables attendees to feel live animals such as shrimp, horseshoe crabs, cowrie snails, brittle sea stars and urchins.
Starting this week, it now has three different pools. The existing one on the second floor that opened a few years ago holds freshwater stingrays that had been trafficked and were confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The two new ones in a revamped first-floor space called Explorers Cove currently hold freshwater lake sturgeon and saltwater cownose rays, with more animals set to be added down the road.
The aquarium moved its cafe to the second floor earlier this year, dismantling a multisensory movie theater in that location. Explorers Cove was retrofitted into the space of the old restaurant.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Touch pools, while not as enthralling as watching blue whales or dolphins leap in the air, are an important part of the aquarium experience, providing kids and adults a way to interact with animals they otherwise would never get to touch.
Explorers Cove, which took eight months to build and opened a few weeks later than originally planned, is a bigger version of an exhibit that was set in the main atrium from 2005 to 2015. The earlier Georgia Explorer featured two pools as well, but they were removed to build out the sea lion theater and new escalators. (Unfortunately, the aquarium’s geographic footprint can’t get any larger so any addition usually requires a subtraction.)
“Since that was gone, we felt like we needed to up our game with interactive,” said Nate Farnau, curator of fishes and invertebrates at the Georgia Aquarium and one of four employees who have been there since the build out two decades ago.
The freshwater pool initially features 13 lake sturgeon, which were once endangered but have made comebacks in river systems in the Midwest and Southeast due to conservation efforts. The fish, which can live 50 to 100 years, came from a zoo in Ohio and have lived in their new habitat for two weeks. “They have tough scutes and scales on their backs that are very durable,” Farnau said.
The 14 cownose rays, a migratory species that is abundant in Georgia waters, are set in a warmer saltwater pool that simulates the Gulf of Mexico in May. They came from the Discovery Cove resort in Miami and were already used to interacting with humans.
“They know the drill and recognize people as a source for food so they come over eagerly,” Farnau said. “They are the undisputed king of the touch pool.”
Indeed, on a soft opening Wednesday, customers were more drawn to the rays, who were more active and more willing to be petted than the sturgeon.
There are employees always by the pool to answer questions and ensure kids don’t hurt the animals. “Be gentle and never grab,” Farnau said. “We recommend two fingers to gently touch them on the back.”
The aquarium also added an area set aside for more water play featuring colorful funnels and fountains, as well as screens where kids can color digital fish.
“This is a big investment,” he said. “We hope to keep it here as long as we can.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Farnau said losing the 4D theater wasn’t an easy decision, but based on customer feedback, live animals trumped filmed animals. And the venue needed an improved eatery.
“With our increased attendance, we needed a cafe with more food diversity, more seating and a better experience for guests,” Farnau said.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
IF YOU GO
Georgia Aquarium
9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. General admission tickets start at $39.99. 225 Baker St. NW, Atlanta. georgiaquarium.org.
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