Snakes Alive!
Scaly Slimy Spectacular: The Amphibian and Reptile Experience
When I found out that my boys and I had the opportunity to get a sneak peak at Zoo Atlanta’s eagerly anticipated Scaly Slimy Spectacular: The Amphibian and Reptile Experience, I had mixed feelings. That’s because I’m not a huge fan of anything scaly or slimy. After visiting this truly spectacular 14,000-square-foot complex, I’m a different person!
You can’t miss the impressive 45-foot-tall, expansive glass dome that houses the exhibit. The carefully crafted individual glass panes are designed with a pattern so that birds won’t fly directly into the glass. Inside, visitors are transported to a peaceful, rainforest-like path where the Cuban crocodile habitat welcomes you with a 30-foot naturalistic waterfall. This is just one of 67 painstakingly constructed individual exhibits that simulate different ecosystems like the desert, savanna, tidal marsh, mountain streams, bamboo forests and more.
The new exhibit features over 70 species, many of which are new to Zoo Atlanta. These include frogs, toads, lizards, salamanders, snakes, turtles, and tortoises, to name a few. We felt like we were in a real cave as we wandered along the winding path enhanced by hand-crafted rock work.
Parents will appreciate that there are no more railings in front of the glass exhibits like in the old World of Reptiles building. This allows visitors to get really up close, and it helped me overcome my apprehension by coming face to face with these scaly and slimy creatures.
My boys loved the animal signage with interactive digital touch-screens. This was one of their favorite features, since it allowed them to take a deeper dive at each stop to see more photos and videos of the animal behaviors. The interactive game kiosks were a hit as well, and my boys had fun answering questions, earning cards, and creating their own reptiles. I had a hard time getting them to leave the kiosks once they got started!
As a bonus, Zoo Atlanta also added the smaller Georgia Extremes building which features reptiles and amphibians specific to Georgia. We actually spent the night here and had the pleasure of sleeping below the Timber Rattlesnake, who happened to shed his skin while we slumbered!
This exciting exhibit is ideal for all ages, and you should allow yourselves a couple hours to take in everything due to its highly interactive nature. Zoo Atlanta has really outdone itself with Scaly Slimy Spectacular, so be sure to slither on over when you have the opportunity.
– Felicia Barman
Junior Reporter Connor DePriest gives his view of the exhibit.
