Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga

4.6

#1 of 140 in Things to do in Chattanooga

Must see · Aquarium · Zoo / Aquarium

Create an itinerary including Tennessee Aquarium

To see how one of the largest aquariums in the world works, take a behind-the-scenes tour of Tennessee Aquarium. Tours offer a rare look at the filtering and food-preparation areas, with an additional stop at the aquarium's biggest habitat, a large tank filled with sand tiger and bonnethead sharks. Other highlights include an invertebrate gallery where you can see jellyfish, cuttlefish, giant octopuses, and spider crabs. Save some time for the "river journey" exhibit, which follows the path of a single raindrop from the Appalachian Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. The aquarium also offers self-guided tours of three living forest exhibits teeming with wildlife that can be viewed from above and below the water's surface. To visit Tennessee Aquarium on your trip to Chattanooga, use our Chattanooga trip maker site.

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Tennessee Aquarium reviews

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TripAdvisor traveler rating

7,032 reviews

Google

4.7

By Nick H

Great experience even while construction and maintenance were being performed. Very friendly staff. Would recommend this to anyone.

Great experience even while construction and maintenance were being performed. Very friendly staff. Would recommend this to anyone. more »
By cathyverner

The aquarium was amazing and cleverly designed. Too bad we had to try and navigate thru bratty kids jumping on exhibitions and running amok while their lazy zoned out parents were oblivious...

The aquarium was amazing and cleverly designed. Too bad we had to try and navigate thru bratty kids jumping on exhibitions and running amok while their lazy zoned out parents were oblivious... more »

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Google

By Evian Lawson

I love aquariums and this one did not disappoint. It is divided into two buildings, one for ocean one for river. It takes you through the museum in a specific path so you aren’t going in circles. The buildings are huge. But very fun to explore. My favorite part in the ocean building was seeing the sea turtles and my son loved the sharks and penguins. In the River building we both loved the giant river fish and all the turtles. He even got to touch an animal in its tank. Great family experience. The gift shop is even moderately priced

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By Mya Spradlin

This is a fantastic date spot! I went with my boyfriend and some of his family and we all had a blast. The journey is easy to follow and the experience is beautiful. It's clean, staff are friendly, and it's an overall interesting experience. The gift shop is expensive, but the tickets are well worth your money. The website is still terrible for buying tickets, but we got in quickly with no trouble at the ticket booth.

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