Crustahunter Tour 2008 with Chris Lukhaup
Hi everybody,
these blog entries and pictures are made available to us courtesy of Wirbellosen-Auktionshaus.de. My special thanks go to Andreas (Garnelenfan)!
The original text in German can be found here:
Wirbellosen-Auktionshaus visited the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta in the course of the USA Craytour 2008
On the first day in the US we went directly to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta:
Here are some photos:
Fotos: Wirbellosen-Auktionshaus
Big cinema in Atlanta- USA
Over 100,000 fish in 24 million liters of water on an area of 500,000 square meters in the middle of Atlanta's city center - that is the Georgia Aquarium, which makes it the world-wide no. 1 among show aquariums. A billionaire with a preference for large fish and huge buildings conjured this gigantic aquarium out of nothing and has pumped over 200 million $ into this project. Bernard Marcus, called "Bernie" by everybody, 77 years old, founded "Home Depot" in the seventies, which is now the leading hardware store chain in the world.
The aquarium consists of five sections that come together in the middle of the building, thus forming a star.
The "River Scout Gallery“ emulates river or lake systems as we can find them in Africa, South America, Asia and also in Georgia. River Scout is the only section in the Georgia Aquarium housing freshwater animals. 98% of the aquarium consist of sea water, though. Sturgeons swim above the visitors' heads in an impressively lighted tank and give the visitors an uncommon perspective. Together with Amazonas fish the largest freshwater fish of the world can be seen: the predator Arapaima.
At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a colorful Malawi tank, and a little further large groups of Piranhas can be watched circling around their tank. A pop-up window lets the kids see the razor-sharp teeth of the Piranhas.
In the Asia section the smallest otter species can be overserved searching for food or playing.
The section "Georgia Explorer" is also called Discover Our Coast and is especially interesting for kids, who find a huge playground area. One of the highlights for kids is, of course, the simulated shrimp boat. There visitors are to get to know native American coastal animals like horseshoe crabs, starfish, shrimps and rays. This area is a kind of petting zoo, and children as well as grown-ups gather round the five pools in order to be able to touch these bizarre creatures.
The "Ocean Voyager", sounding like a US afternoon series, is not as exhausting: The tour starts through an over 30 meter long tunnel, allowing to see 6.33 million gallons of sea water and its inhabitants from below and enveloping the visitors from three sides. The visitors to this section are transported on a moving walkway as if they were at the airport. They just have to direct their view to the ceiling and gaze in wonderment. -. In a large, dark hall of the "Ocean Voyager" there is the true highlight of the aquarium - the fish cinema. Here, entire school classes marvel at the deep insight they get through the huge glass wall, behind which thousands of colorful fish can be seen swimming. No other aquarium houses as many fish species as the Georgia Aquarium. And there they are, the world's largest fish. The whale sharks, belonging to the monotypical genus of Rhincodon, are the largest of all recent sharks and, at the same time, the largest living fish known today. This species is assumed to grow to 18 to 20 meters in length, however, the longest whale sharks measured up to now never exceeded 14 meters at a weight of over 12 tons. This makes the Georgia Aquarium the only aquarium in the US and in the entire world that is able to house these four giants. Only in Asia two further exemplars of this species can be seen. This aquarium's staff are able to interpret practically every inhabitant's movementes. Here, the focus lies on the education mandate the aquarium has given itself.
Life moves a lot more slowly in the "Tropical Diver" section, which is dark, mysterious, and resembles an art gallery more than an aquarium. This section is also called "The Living Gallery", not a coincidence. Purple jellyfish look like ink spots on a deep blue background. This section was designed to give visitors a little break. Deeper inside this section the amazed visitor can see a reef populated by beautiful corals, living and artificial ones.
Cold Water Quest – The Chilly Unknown; this is the section presenting animals from the polar regions to the temperate zones. Here you can find another attraction of the aquarium - the charismatic beluga whales. They glide through the cold waters, seemingly weightless. Before this window you can forget about the outside world. There are only cold blue immensities and the belugas, smiling back at you when you wave at them - as it seems.
Penguins, sea lions and a giant octopus from the vastness of the Pacific can be seen here.
This section allows an overview over the highly interesting and manifold cold sea fauna. The Georgia Aquarium can afford the luxurious ambience for its animals: Other than the further 36 American aquariums, the Atlantans do not have to worry about covering the costs, as this aquarium is the hobby of a billionaire. However, Bernie does not just have a hobby, he also has a vision. His aquarium is to re-vitalize downtown Atlanta and to bring about a comeback so many American inner cities, left by their residents, crave. Reader’s Digest declared this aquarium to be among "America’s 100 Best". In the first year, 2.4 million visitors were anticipated, however, in reality, nearly 4 million people had visited the aquarium by the end of 2006. An average of 100,000 visitors a day come to the aquarium. Economists claim that the aquarium's share in Atlanta's economy will exceed 5 billion dollars within the first five years.
Source: Aquaristik Fachmagazin 2008 Author: Chris Lukhaup
Further information: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/
Graphic: Chris Lukhaup
Graphic: Chris Lukhaup
To be continued.
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