GEORGIA AQUARIUM: BIG FISH TALE

WORDS NICOLE FILE

This month, the brand new Georgia Aquarium opens its gates as the biggest fish-fest outside of the ocean.

Star of the show Ralph
and buddy Norton are
only adolescents, but
will grow up to
40 feet in length.

Water is one of the most powerful forces on earth. So it’s little wonder that we feel awe when we look at the ocean.

And it’s this feeling that Georgia Aquarium benefactor Bernie Marcus had in mind when he conceived his $200+ million thank you to the people of Georgia. “Everyone loves an aquarium,” he explains. “Everyone can appreciate the majesty of the earth’s oceans. Everyone gets the miracle. Everyone’s a little in awe.”

The mere facts of the new Georgia Aquarium are as mind-boggling as the calculus of a wave. The doors of the largest aquarium in the world open on November 23. It showcases 100,000 fish in 8 million gallons of water; yet thanks to a state-of-the-art water recycling system, it uses no more of that precious resource than a typical office building or grocery store. Roughly 10 acres of floor space provide plenty of room for entertainment, hospitality, education and research. And, though Marcus has been famously tight-lipped about the aquarium’s specifics, word has leaked that the main viewing window dwarfs any other in America—and rivals the current largest aquarium window on earth, which spans 74 feet and is almost 30-foot tall.

Two of the aquarium’s stars—the only whale sharks on display in the western hemisphere—can be seen through this gigantic window.

Already over 15 feet long, Ralph and

Norton are mere teenagers and will eventually reach up to 40 feet. Whale sharks are gentle giants, filter-feeding on tiny plankton, sardines and anchovies. Scuba divers have even been known to clamber over a whale shark’s 10-ton body without ill effect. The behemoths were treated just as gently when they were transported more than 8,000 miles to their new home from the waters off Taiwan. Now they’re here in Atlanta the whale sharks will be studied, and Marcus hopes to help reverse the decline of this mysterious and highly private species.

Ralph and Norton are joined by another pair of celebrities; two white male beluga whales, Nico and Gasper, were rescued from a tank beneath a roller coaster at a Mexico amusement park. The always-smiling belugas are known as the “canaries of the sea,” because of their florid singing, which can even be heard from outside the water. At only about 16 feet in length, they’ll be dwarfed by the whale sharks. But their melodious voices and glowing white appearance are sure to make them stars in their own right.

Nico and Gasper’s rags-to-riches tale echoes Bernie Marcus’ own. His parents, Russian Jewish immigrants, welcomed him into the world during the Great Depression. Marcus grew up poor but made a decent living until he and co-worker Arthur Blank were fired from the hardware company where they both worked. Marcus and Blank began a business partnership that would make history when they opened their own home-improvement chain in Atlanta—Home Depot. Both men are now billionaires.

It’s no accident that the aquarium building itself resembles an ark bisecting a giant wave, as the facility shelters aquatic refugees from all over the world. The belugas’ rescue is just part of what Marcus refers to as the “4R” approach: Rescue, Rehabilitation, Relocation and Research. Hundreds of the center’s residents were donated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in a deal that allows the aquarium access to fish and animals caught in nets, confiscated at borders or otherwise seized. About 100 tarpon—the silvery game fish that fetch tens of thousands of dollars at elite fishing tournaments—were rescued from a tide pool off the coast of Georgia’s Skidaway Island. Ralph and Norton themselves were caught by fishermen near Taiwan, where whale sharks are considered fair game for the dinner table.

The aquarium offers much more than just entertainment, with 25% of the floor space dedicated to education. Teachers, kids and scientists can learn about everything from the mating habits of the great whale shark to the effects of pollution and overfishing on the oceans and the rest of the world. In addition, a state-approved learning course for teachers is in place. Children can learn the fun way, with interactive displays and up-close encounters, as well as many other educational incentives.

You’ll be able to feel good about preparing your children for the future while enjoying one of the most striking entertainment facilities in the US. The aquarium boasts a gargantuan 16,400-square-foot ballroom that features two private viewing windows for up-close interaction with the aquarium’s main attractions. It can accommodate 1,100 people for a banquet, or almost 1,600 for a stand-up reception. Or, you can rent the entire aquarium for about 10,000 of your closest friends. There’s even a kosher kitchen for weddings and bar- and bat-mitzvahs.

Catering and food services are provided by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and Atlanta restaurateur Pano Karatassos of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group. All meals served at the site abide by Seafood Watch standards; that is, the food reflects the importance of using only sustainable and environmentally safe seafood. The aquarium also recommends to visitors what seafood they should buy or avoid outside of the museum, in order to ensure a plentiful supply of fish for the future.

True to the vision of its benefactor, the aquarium is opening free of debt. Besides the $200+ million donation from Bernie Marcus himself, a massive fund-raising campaign has raised enough money to pay for the construction and the programs.

Donors even had the chance to own a small piece of the aquarium by buying “fish scales” for $55 each. Tens of thousands of the personalized scales are displayed, individually backlit by LED lighting, on a 100-foot interactive light wall inside the aquarium. The laser-etched scales are further highlighted by aquatic video and abstract images that shift across the wall, resembling an ocean current. The names of all the fish scale owners are searchable on kiosks located near the display. Once a name is entered into the kiosk, a shooting star arcs across the light wall to the Scale bearing that person’s name.

Donations of time are also helping the aquarium operate on a tighter budget. Volunteers have helped with everything from providing intensive care to rescued tropical fish, to marketing and special events. Multilingual volunteers will be on hand to assist visitors who speak languages other than English, and hearing-impaired visitors can get assistance from volunteers proficient in sign language. The aquarium was expecting a few hundred people to offer their time and skills; instead, they were flooded with thousands of applications.

The Georgia Aquarium already seems to have a pull on people as strong as the moon on the tide. Maybe for some, it’s the mesmerizing lights of the interactive wall. For others, it’s sure to be the flash and glow of a rainbow parrot fish, or the crystalline filigree of a barbour’s seahorse or murex shell. Still others might feel their own heartbeats mirrored in the pulse of a jellyfish’s motion, or be captivated by the hammerhead’s methodical slither. The Georgia Aquarium reflects our fascination with the ocean and its many and varied creatures.

SOME FACTS

• 8 million gallons of water will be held in the tanks.
• 505,000 square-feet makes it the largest aquarium in the US.
• More than 2 million visitors are expected in the first year.
• 10,000 guests can be accommodated at events held at the aquarium and its vast ballroom.
• 61 miles of pipe and wire are used in the aquarium’s operational systems— more than enough to circle the city of Atlanta.
• 25 percent of the public floor space is dedicated to education.
• 100,000 animals will call the aquarium home.
• 1,200 average-sized homes could be climate controlled by the aquarium’s HVAC system.

For more information, visit www.georgiaaquarium.org

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