Ripley's Aquarium at the Smokies

The Ripley's Aquarium at the Smokies located in Gatlinburg is a great Aquarium experience. The Aquarium is pretty large and houses many varieties of fish and other sea life. As someone who loves animals it was a great experience that offered a wide variety of animals and fish to see and watch as they interacted with each other as well as with people. Some of the creatures that were located in the aquarium are sting rays, manta rays, tropical fish, sharks, cuttlefish, sea turtles, saw fish, giant crabs, sea horses, sea dragons, and even penguins. All of the creatures were very visible and it was clearly marked which species of creature they were. The aquarium was very educational and informed it's crowds on the marine life, their habitats, and a little bit about the animals. The creatures had a good amount of room to swim around and they seemed to be taken care of well which was important to me. Not only did the aquarium inform about the creatures, but it also showed a bit into the ways that it worked showing the water systems and informing us a little on the process of how they control the water.

The creatures that were in the aquarium were really interesting. There were some types of sea animals that I had never seen before such as giant crabs which were huge and scary looking creatures. Also some of the exhibits allowed you to get close and personal with the animals and pet the sea life. Sting Rays were some of the creatures that you are allowed to pet at the aquarium and they will swim right up to you and allow you to feel them. Another feature of the aquarium was the moving walkway that you stand on to see the sharks. This was a very long moving hall which was really interesting to see, however, the walkway moved very slow and most people just stood making it hard to walk around them. The highlight of the aquarium was the penguin exhibit. You can see the penguins being fed and also swimming and playing with each other. It was very nice because there is a glass window on the floor which allows you to see the penguins swim below you.

The aquarium was a great experience and definitely lived up to my expectations. I would recommend a trip here as it was interesting, fun, and educational.