When you visit Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies you are sure to be amazed at the sea life that you can view and touch with 10,000 exotic sea creatures. There is also a Penguin Playhouse, a gift shop, cafeteria and more fun things for the entire family to enjoy. Low prices and group activities are also some of the added benefits you will find when you walk through the door.sevie
Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies has a little bit of everything that you would think of from the oceans to see. With more than 350 individual species each species in an area that is made to feel like their home climate divided by Tropical Rainforest, Ocean Realm, Systems Controls, Coral Reef, Shark Lagoon, Discovery Center, the Gallery of the Seas, Stingray Bay, Touch a Ray Bay and a Penguin Playhouse. The tropical rainforest is the perfect place to go if you like birds and plants. However, many people say their favorite exhibit is when they go on the moving sidewalk that will take you in a glass tunnel underneath water that contains sharks, stingrays, and fish of every shape and size that you can view from every angle. View schools of fish as they live in a habitat similar to their own at the Ocean Realm. The Coral Reef is a mesmerizing area where you can see all kinds of colorful fish and plants that grow in the sea. You can also see scuba divers feed the fish and clean the tank. One of the favorite attractions at the aquarium is the shark tank. A moving sidewalk 340 feet in length takes you underneath ocean water as you watch sharks, stingrays, turtles and more swim right above your head. This area allows you to see the magnificent beauty of sharks and the other animals in the water in a way that many people do not experience.
After viewing the fish in the water, you can visit the Sting Ray Bay where you can touch the backs of sting rays. There is also a discovery area where children can explore by touch. Classes can come through the aquarium during the week and receive a lesson on parts of sea animals and how animals survive in the ocean. When you are ready to take a break, you can get something to eat in the Feeding Frenzy Eatery or find a souvenir in the Cargo Hold Gift Shop.
