Tennessee Aquarium

THE TENNESSEE AQUARIUM IS A HIGHLY VISITED ATTRACTION AND IS CONSISTENTLY RATED VERY HIGH IN GUEST SATISFACTION. AFTER THIRTY YEARS THE AQUARIUM CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR CATALYST FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PROVIDING STRONG FISCAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS ON THE REGION. iN 2022, THE AQUARIUM WELCOMED MORE THAN 772,000 VISITORS TO ITS RIVER JOURNEY AND OCEAN JOURNEY BUILDINGS. THROUGH VIBRANT AND UNIQUIE EXHIBITS THE AQUARIUM IMMERSES VISITORS IN THE FASCINATING STORIES OF LIFE ABOVE, AROUND AND BELOW THE WATER. THESE EXHIBITS HOUSE 12,000 ANIMALS REPRESENTING 800 SPECIES, MANY OF WHOM ARE PART OF SPECIES SURVIVAL PLANS COORDINATED BY ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE AQUARIUM ALSO INCLUDES AN IMAX 3D THEATER SHOWING EDUCATIONAL AND INSPIRING FILMS DAILY. THE AQUARIUM HAS BEEN CONTINUOUSLY ACCREDITED BY THE AZA FOR TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS, AFFIRMING A GOAL TO ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF WELLBEING FOR THE ANIMALS IN OUR CARE. THIS ACCREDITATION REFLECTS OUR COMMITMENT TO THE BEST PRACTICES OF OUR INDUSTRY.

The Tennessee Aquarium is a leader in environmental and conservation education and has received overwhelming acclaim for its education programs. Frequently honored for its education, conservation and research work, the Aquarium has also received awards for its customer service and visitor experience conservation educator of the year from the Tennessee wildlife federation, office of the governor environmental stewardship award, and the north american conservation award. Aquarium educators have connected more than 2.5 million students with the natural world through the aquariums dynamic living collection. School groups can select from several activities including self-guided tours of the Aquarium, standards-based classroom programs and eductional imax films. The Aquarium offers complimentary admission and bus transportation for economically disadvantaged students in title i schools.

The rivers of the southeastern united states harbor some of the highest freshwater diversity on the planet. Based in a leed gold certified freshwater science center on the banks of the Tennessee river, the Tennessee Aquarium conservation institute furthers the mission of the Tennessee Aquarium by conducting scientific studies, restoring and protecting our regions natural ecosystems, and educating members of the public to take conservation action. Research to identify which southeastern waters have the greatest biodiversity is vital for conservation planning in the souteheast, because it can be used to identify hotspots of diversity that need protection. One signature program is the propagation and reintroduction of lake sturgeon to the Tennessee river. The Aquarium and its partners have released more than 300,000 lake sturgeon.