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Idea

Georgia Aquarium

One-line summary: One of the largest aquariums in the world by water volume (~10 million gallons) — the only US aquarium with whale sharks (four of them, in a 6.3-million-gallon "Ocean Voyager" tank) and manta rays, plus beluga whales, African penguins, sea otters, and a serious dolphin program. Built by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus in 2005 as a gift to Atlanta; sits one block from Centennial Olympic Park.

Georgia Aquarium

One-line summary: One of the largest aquariums in the world by water volume (~10 million gallons) — the only US aquarium with whale sharks (four of them, in a 6.3-million-gallon "Ocean Voyager" tank) and manta rays, plus beluga whales, African penguins, sea otters, and a serious dolphin program. Built by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus in 2005 as a gift to Atlanta; sits one block from Centennial Olympic Park.

Scope note: this template covers steps 1–3 of the adventures pipeline (identify, support Maxine's research, shape goals). The deliverable webpage

  • video at step 6 is Maxine's own work — don't scaffold it here.

Links & Maps

Official:

Maps:

Reference & background:

  • Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) IUCN profile — endangered: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/19488/2365291
  • Manta ray (Mobula spp.) profile.
  • The aquarium's whale sharks were imported from Taiwan in 2005 (now controversial); two of the originals (Ralph, Norton) died. Surviving four are Alice, Trixie, Taroko, Yushan.

Must-See / Big Items

  1. Ocean Voyager (6.3M-gallon whale-shark tank, presented by Home Depot) — the centerpiece, with a 100-foot tunnel underneath the tank. Whale sharks, manta rays, hammerheads. Spend real time at the acrylic — get a feel for the tank's scale.
  2. Cold Water Quest gallery — beluga whales, sea otters, African penguins, giant Pacific octopus. The belugas are the most vocal animals in the facility; their underwater sounds are audible at the viewing window.
  3. Dolphin Coast — open-ocean dolphin tank + the "AT&T Dolphin Celebration" presentation. The presentation has been deliberately reworked since 2017 to be educational vs. circus-style; useful as a "what's an ethical aquarium animal show?" case study.
  4. Tropical Diver gallery — Indo-Pacific reef tank; the artificial wave-surge system is itself an engineering exhibit.
  5. River Scout gallery — freshwater rivers (Asian arowana, alligator gar, piranhas). Often overlooked by visitors who only know the saltwater stars.
  6. SunTrust Pier 225 (sea lions) — Pacific harbor sea lions, presentations several times daily.
  7. The 4-D theater — short films with seat motion, water spray, smell effects. Skip if pressed for time; the films change.

Stretch goals (do if time allows):

  • Behind the Glass tour ($50–$80) — walk on top of the Ocean Voyager exhibit. Best value add-on; book ahead.
  • Animal Encounter with the African penguins — small-group, $80ish. The penguins will physically interact with you under supervision.
  • The aquarium's veterinary medical center is sometimes visible on certain tours — real working facility.

Research angles for Maxine

The research is hers — list questions to investigate and sources to start from, not answers. Pitch above grade level.

Hook into Maxine's current interests: (ask before finalizing — what is she into right now? bend the questions to that.)

Questions worth chasing:

  • Science / marine biology: Rhincodon typus is the world's largest extant fish (up to 18 m). How does a filter-feeder get to 18 m on plankton? What does the Atlanta facility know about whale-shark biology that wild-population research can't measure? Read the published papers by Georgia Aquarium scientists.
  • Science / engineering: The Ocean Voyager is 30 ft deep and holds 6.3 million gallons. What's the acrylic panel spec — thickness, manufacturer, hydrostatic load? What's the filtration rate? (The facility processes its full volume every hour.)
  • Ethics: Public aquariums are debated — entertainment vs. conservation vs. captivity. Read Naomi Rose's papers on cetacean welfare and the responses from public aquariums. Frame the argument both ways; write your own conclusion.
  • History: Bernie Marcus founded Home Depot, sold it, and built this aquarium as a $250M+ private gift to Atlanta. Trace philanthropic civic gifts in recent US history — what's the pattern, and where does this fit?
  • Math: Watch the dolphin show and estimate the energy budget — meals/day for an 8-dolphin pod, calories per kilogram, total caloric throughput.
  • Art: Sketch the whale shark from a still position; the proportions are unintuitive. Compare published anatomical drawings to your own.

Starting sources (not exhaustive — she'll find more):

Observable field goals

  • Time how long it takes one whale shark to complete a full lap of Ocean Voyager. Calculate swim speed.
  • Identify three different shark species in Ocean Voyager and one ray species.
  • Find one example of a behavioral-enrichment device in any habitat (often a floating toy, a feeding puzzle); photograph it.
  • Watch the dolphin presentation; note how often "education" vs. "entertainment" framing appears in the script.
  • Find at least one piece of evidence of the aquarium's own research program (citation on a placard, mention in a video, ID-tagged animal).

Suggested itinerary

  1. 9:00 a.m. Open; head for Ocean Voyager tunnel first (smallest line at open).
  2. 10:30 a.m. Cold Water Quest (belugas + penguins).
  3. 12:00 p.m. Lunch on-site or walk to Pemberton Place plaza food.
  4. 1:00 p.m. Tropical Diver + River Scout.
  5. 2:30 p.m. Dolphin Coast presentation.
  6. 3:30 p.m. Sea lion presentation + return to Ocean Voyager for second long sit.
  7. 5:00 p.m. Out; walk to World of Coca-Cola or Centennial Olympic Park Fountain of Rings.

Family roles:

  • Chris leads: the engineering / ethics threads.
  • Heather leads: pacing across galleries; presentation timing.
  • Maxine drives: the whale-shark biology deep dive; the ethics essay.
  • Solo vs. both parents: fine with one. Cuts both ways crowd-wise — peak times need two adults for line-and-bathroom-relief.

Connections

Combines well with:

Feeds into home projects / future adventures:

  • A whale-shark / megafauna conservation project.
  • A captive-cetacean ethics essay.

Open questions / still to research (Chris's side)

  • Whale shark count this week — animals do move and die.
  • Whether a behind-the-scenes tour is available for our date.
  • Current dolphin presentation script — they've revised it repeatedly.