How Tennessee Aquarium keeps it fresh
If you think all aquariums are the same, think again. Most aquariums focus solely on saltwater ecosystems, highlighting the ocean and its marine life. But in Chattanooga, one attraction has been steadily gathering fans and accolades since 1992 with its unique approach.
Fittingly from its spot along the banks of the Tennessee River, the Tennessee Aquarium has been focused on freshwater habitats since its River Journey building doors opened. Its second building, Ocean Journey, opened in 2005. This mountains-to-the-sea depiction of aquatic life culminated in winning Newsweek Readers’ Choice Award as the nation’s best aquarium in 2024 and being named a Top 10 finalist in USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for the country’s best aquarium in 2024 and 2025. A visit here includes touching sturgeons and stingrays, seeing snake-necked turtles and potentially becoming the landing spot of a butterfly. You can even pop your head into some exhibits via a glass-enclosed bubble.
This month, the aquarium opened its latest exhibit, Scuttlebutt Reef gallery, focused on marine animals that should not be underestimated as they've got superpowers. Read on to see why a visit to the Tennessee Aquarium is unlike any other.
What to expect:
Whether you drive to the Tennessee Aquarium or take Chattanooga’s free CARTA Downtown Electric Shuttle, you’ll see the impressive glass triangles on the ceilings of both buildings as you come to the plaza. No surprise then that it was a group of architectural students from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville who first suggested the idea of an aquarium in this spot. The design even features a little river that winds around the plaza area so visitors can dunk their feet in and cool off on a hot day. And, once inside, there are places to stop and enjoy the bird’s-eye view of the Tennessee River.
Plan ahead for your visit as tickets are daily timed entry every half hour. Both buildings are included in the admission price and it’s a discounted price to add on the aquarium’s IMAX Theater. (It’s worth noting that this theater has Chattanooga’s largest screen and is one of the only IMAX with Laser theaters in the world; the technology allows sharper and more lifelike images in 2D and 3D. There are even speakers in the ceiling.)
What you'll see:
The initial River Journey idea focused on America’s inland waters, specifically the diversity of the Tennessee River, which begins in the Appalachian Mountains and runs to the Mississippi Delta of Louisiana. Start with the Appalachian Cove Forest, a recreated ancient forest with sounds of chirping birds and cascading waterfalls—and playful North American River otters doing their water aerobics.
In “Ridges to Rivers,” see how a single stream offers shelter to colorful fish and reptiles, not just from standing against the glass, but by popping your head inside the exhibit for a closer look at life on the bottom of a river; in this exhibit, you can also touch the leathery-skinned lake sturgeon, essentially a “living fossil” unchanged from dinosaur times 100 million years ago. The Delta Country gallery places visitors on a boardwalk through a cypress swamp, with its towering trees and American alligators watching your every move. Try to spot an alligator snapping turtle in a favorite spot under the water.
Today, the River Journey also includes global species. Check out the various shelled reptiles like the four-eyed turtle, spiny turtle and black-breasted leaf turtle in the “Turtles of the World” exhibit. The Tennessee Aquarium is the only U.S. facility that breeds the critically endangered four-eyed turtle; hatchlings are displayed in the nursery of the exhibit. Over in the “Rivers of the World” exhibit, you’ll find freshwater species from the Amazon, Congo, Volga and Fly Rivers as well as from tropical African and Eurasian waters. Here’s where you’ll find red piranha, a West African dwarf crocodile, an electric eel and blue poison dart frogs.
In 2005, the Tennessee Aquarium completed a $45 million expansion to include marine ecosystems, opening its Ocean Journey building. The newer building has a special focus on the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, a federally protected site in the Gulf that is located about 100 miles off the coast of Louisiana and Texas. The aquarium is one of the few to recreate this part of the ocean; in its “Secret Reef” exhibit, sand tiger sharks and a green sea turtle seamlessly make their way through the water.
Other exhibits include the Butterfly Garden, where more than 1,000 butterflies (representing more than 20 species) fly freely and the Tropical Cove, where lemurs frolic in a rainforest setting and visitors can touch stingrays. Expect to see penguins that are on the larger side at Penguins’ Rock, featuring Gentoos (the third largest penguin species) and Macaronis (the largest of the crested penguin species).
It’s in the new Scuttlebutt Reef gallery, the first major addition to the aquarium since 2023, where visitors may encounter species they’ve never heard of before and learn some cool facts to tell their friends at school (or work). Lumpsuckers, for example, have no scales to help them swim; they can survive turbulent waters because their pelvic fins fuse to become sucker disks that help the fish anchor itself to something sturdy. Peacock Mantis Shrimp are only 6 inches long, but their claws can strike in excess of 50mph.
Go deeper:
Tennessee Aquarium offers a few daily experiences free with admission, but certain ones are timed so it’s important to plot your visit. Watch the animal care specialists feed the penguins twice a day during “Penguins Rock!” or learn more about these tiny flighted creatures during the “Butterfly Keeper Chat.” Talk with a scuba diver in the Ocean Journey building or watch them feed freshwater species in the River Journey building. Learn more about the “Secrets of the Swamp” in the Delta Country exhibit. The Lake Sturgeon and stingray touch experiences are available all day.
If you want to learn more, Tennessee Aquarium also offers "Deeper Dives: In-Depth Tours" for any visitor at least 8 years of age. The “Insider’s Tour” gives people a 90-minute behind-the-scenes look before the aquarium opens to the public. “Feeding Frenzy” is a 30-minute chance to feed schooling fishes in the Secret Reef. “Pumps & Pipes” is a one-hour journey into the maze of pipes, pumps and filters that keep everything running.
Tennessee Aquarium also provides the opportunity to say you’ve slept with the fishes—and survived—through its “Sleep in the Deep” program. This is a chance to explore the aquarium after hours with a guide and snuggle down for the night while watching sea life swim above you. Registration is required in advance for these limited opportunities (April 3; June 20; Sept. 5 and Dec. 11).
Conservation efforts:
While visitors are busy “oohing” and “aahing” the animals, research scientists are hard at work at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, just a few miles away. This dedicated facility for freshwater conservation and research is currently focused on raising the plight of the critically endangered laurel dace, lake sturgeon, Southern Appalachian brook trout and barrens topminnow.
Located back on the aquarium plaza, the S.T.R.E.A.M. Learning Center, supported by Unum, houses three classrooms, two sensory-friendly rooms, floor-to-ceiling ecosystem murals, and educational offices. This educational hub offers formal learning for school groups as well as seasonal camps and professional workshops.
Stay tuned:
If you still can’t get enough of the Tennessee Aquarium, fear not, as you can listen to the Podcast Aquatic, which drops biweekly. Currently in its second season, here you can listen to discussions with marine life experts about various species as well as an episode specifically about the new Scuttlebutt Reef.
And to “sea” the animals again once you’re back home, you can watch the live web cams of the penguins, otters or the fish in a few exhibits.
