Georgia Aquarium

GG and Papa visited recently and prior to their arrival Little I told me that he wanted to go to the pool with GG and Papa. I told him that it was too cold out, so we'd have to go somewhere else, like the science museum, to which Little I responded, "Fish." I was amazed that he remembered the fish from the McWane Center. So, I thought it would be neat to show him the pictures of the fish from our visit on the computer. Then in looking for videos of fish online, I discovered the Georgia Aquarium's website with a live webcam of their 6.3 million gallon Ocean Voyager tank. Little I was hooked. He was especially interested in the sharks and stingrays, which he told me he wanted to "pat." I remembered there was a kids area at the aquarium that allowed kids to touch rays and little sand sharks, so I started talking it up. We even started a game: my arm is the shark that slowly comes to take a bite out of Little I; all the while I hum "Jaws" music; then Little I swats my hand and the arm-shark retreats with a yelp. (Repeat as necessary).

We went down to the museum on a friday, so it was not too busy, and met up with our cousin John Andrew and aunt Ellie. The entrance of the aquarium has two walls of fast-swimming tuna. When we stepped through the door, Little I saw the fish, hopped out of my arms, and was off like a shot to get a closer look at the fish. When we actually started on the Ocean Voyager exhibit, Little I pushed his way to the front of the crowd and pressed his face against the glass to watch the various fish, rays, and sharks.

Unfortunately, Little I had already been running on adrenaline, not sleep, and became overwhelmed before the end of the exhibit. While we got to see the Tropical Diver, we knew we were running short on time. We made a quick trip to the kids' area, the Georgia Explorer, only to discover that Little I was not very proficient at only using "two fingers" when trying to touch to rays, shrimp, etc. It is also hard for a toddler to remember not to put his hands in his mouth until after he gets to a sink...so we gathered our things, popped "Finding Nemo" into the van's dvd player, and said goodbye to the fish, to the sharks, and to the stingrays.