Become an Aquanaut
in Five Fun, and Educational, Steps
Get ready for hands on learning as you take on Aquanaut Adventure, Georgia Aquarium’s newest gallery. You’ll begin your adventure upstairs, where Deepo, the aquarium’s mascot, will explain the tasks ahead. This room also has exhibits of reptiles and amphibians. Next you’ll move to the check-in station, where you decide your team name, challenge level and start your timer. You have 45 minutes to complete at least five of the seven challenges to become an “aquanaut” for the day.
When you’re ready to explore, challenge stations along the way provide hands-on learning with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) focus. Your challenge level for each stop is based on age and you can pick your difficulty at each challenge, so your kids can take turns. Kids ages 4-6 are eggs, 7- 9 are fry, and 10 and older are fish.
Our favorite challenge in the Peterson Preserve was the alligator leap, on a life-size printed replica of the largest American alligators ever measured in Florida, 17 feet, 5 inches. You estimate how many leaps it will take to travel from the tip of the tail to the head, then test your theory. The Aqua lab was our favorite stop, where you touch different sea creatures like starfish and sea anemones. One favorite creature was the chocolate chip star fish. An extra bonus in the aqua lab is the behind-the-scenes look from the top of the beluga whale tanks. We happened to be there when they were feeding the whales and it was an awesome treat.
The adventure doesn’t stop there, though. We measured the length of a beluga whale, felt the ice wall as a penguin would, and found Anglerfish like Dory and Merlin that glow in the darkness of the ocean. The entire adventure was an interactive experience of learning about organisms in oceans, lakes and rivers. We completed the challenge in time but there was so much more to see.
Want to explore the adventure on your own time or have kids too little to do the adventure? No problem – you can view the exhibits without having to participate; just ask the staff member at the front of the aquanaut adventure.
– Jordan Lisvosky
