The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is home to over 700 species and 13,000 animals across dozens of exhibits, creating an unforgettable adventure for all ages. Visitors explore two buildings – River Journey and Ocean Journey – tracing the path of water from the mountains to the sea.
Ranked among the top U.S. aquariums in readers’ polls by USA Today and Newsweek in 2025, the Tennessee Aquarium is renowned for its exceptional guest experience, captivating animals, conservation science, and educational programs.
Tennessee Aquarium
Let the Aquatic Adventure Begin
Since opening in May 1992, the Tennessee Aquarium has told the story of freshwater – the importance of clean water, the Southeast’s biodiversity, and species from around the world, from the tiniest baby turtles to river giants. The River Journey starts at the top of the building in the Appalachian Cove Forest, where river otters play and trout swim under the iconic glass peaks of the Aquarium. Freshwater species from headwater streams, rivers of the world, and the Tennessee River are featured in exhibits that wind down the building. Guests can touch ancient Lake Sturgeon and see basking alligators. It’s an amazing freshwater journey, highlighting the underwater rainforest that most people never clearly see from above the surface.
Next door, Ocean Journey begins with a trip to Madagascar with lemurs and the Stingray Bay touch experience. Warmth and humidity greet visitors as they enter the lush Butterfly Garden, followed by the cold extreme of Penguins’ Rock. The Aquarium’s largest exhibit is Secret Reef, teeming with saltwater life from sharks to a green sea turtle and so much more. Closing out guests’ ocean journey, they’ll encounter a Giant Pacific Octopus, Clownfish, and the brand-new Scuttlebutt Reef.
SO, WHAT’S THE SCUTTLEBUTT?
Spring 2026 marks the opening of the Tennessee Aquarium’s newest gallery, Scuttlebutt Reef in the Ocean Journey building – a fun, whimsical collection of exhibits that shows how nature can be both playfully mysterious and delightfully unexpected. As guests explore the newly remodeled space with hints of nautical touches, they discover the truth behind oceanic legends.
A play on the “water cooler” gathering spot on old ships where rumors started, guests encounter beautiful, enigmatic – and often misunderstood – animals that defy expectations with a host of surprising or bizarre adaptations
- Infamous ambush predators with two sets of jaws
- Fish that “walk” on the seafloor or suction onto rocks
- Undersea colonies built out of skeletons
- Sharks that glow in the dark to communicate
- A “shrimp” with an extreme punch well above its weight class
Many of the gallery’s exhibits feature touch-sensitive displays that offer up an aquatic rumor, such as “Are Moray Eels frightening sea snakes?” or “Do some fish have legs?” Once guests interact with them, the panels present information on the exhibit’s residents in English or Spanish. Guests can also test their pugilistic mettle against that of the tiny (but extremely mighty) Mantis Shrimp by taking a swing at a pressure-sensitive punch pad. Additionally, visitors can top up their drink bottles at a refill station themed after the freshwater storage barrel for which the gallery is named.
IMMERSIVE FILMS IN IMAX
The engaging experiences don’t stop but continue across the street at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater, celebrating 30 years in 2026. Educational 45-minute films are shown during the daytime, with Hollywood blockbusters and special features playing in the evenings.
The IMAX 3D Theater is Chattanooga’s largest screen, providing technologically advanced, immersive, and efficient movie-going experience. Premium picture and sound quality are achieved with two 4K laser projectors and a 12-channel audio system.
CONSERVATION AND EDUCATION AT THE FOREFRONT
The Tennessee Aquarium is more than an attraction. It is dedicated to advancing freshwater conservation and education. Admission fees directly support these mission-driven efforts.
The ten-year anniversary in 2026 of the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute’s freshwater field station marks a milestone in scientific work to protect and restore populations of vulnerable species.
In 2025, the Tennessee Aquarium and its partners in the Southeast Lake Sturgeon Working Group celebrated the 25th anniversary of releasing juvenile Lake Sturgeon into the Tennessee and Cumberland River watersheds – a species that went locally extinct in the 1970s. Over 430,000 Lake Sturgeon have been raised and released into the rivers to bring this species back home. After more than two decades of hard work, the Lake Sturgeon was downlisted from “endangered” to “threatened” in Tennessee in 2025. A small victory and nod to success in a conservation mission that will continue.
Additionally, the Tennessee Aquarium opened the S.T.R.E.A.M. Learning Center, supported by Unum, in November 2025. Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics will fill three classroom spaces for school groups, professional workshops, and camps in this centralized hub for education. Every visit to the Tennessee Aquarium helps support these initiatives.
The Tennessee Aquarium offers an adventure for guests of all ages, situated on the gorgeous banks of the Tennessee River. Explore the Aquarium inside and then spend time outside on the Plaza and Riverfront in North America’s first National Park City – Chattanooga, Tennessee.
