Go, dolphin, go!!

There are only a few things that motivate me to brave Atlanta traffic. The Georgia Aquarium is one of them. As the largest aquarium in the United States, it’s home to whale sharks, manta rays, albino alligators, and so many other cool, curious water critters. 

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, my son LOVES animals and has been begging to visit the aquarium ever since his big sister got to visit last spring on an elementary school field trip. With his birthday coming up on September 27th, last weekend was the perfect time to surprise him with an ATL aquatic adventure.

Side note: BTW the Atlanta Aquarium has great deals! I went last January and my One-Day pass was automatically converted to a Resident’s Pass, meaning I receive free general admission all year long. And when I went online to grab a ticket for my son, they had a BOGO sale happening so I was able to invite my nephew for our getaway. With our discounts and specials, the total for all three of us was $51 – and that includes the dolphin and sea lion shows.

They hit you hard in the gift shop, but it’s amazing how affordable the admission is considering the value of the experience and the high cost of upkeep for a 600,000 square foot facility. They also offer great rates and/or free admission to qualifying Title 1 Schools and Non-profit Orgs. 

I know so far this sounds like a commercial for the Georgia Aquarium, but I have NO affiliation. It’s just every time I visit, I feel like I am transported to another world and I always leave surprised and grateful that this facility exists in the heart of the I-285 Perimeter, just 3.5 hours from our front door.

So, no, the point of this blog is not an A-town tourism pitch. The point is… well, keep reading, I’ll get there. Promise.

We arrived at the aquarium early and  were some of the first to enter when the doors opened. Like a hiking trail, going early- or late- means less crowds. And for the first 30 minutes it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves. After spending a good bit of time at the shark exhibit and visiting the beluga whales, we made our way to the dolphin show. 

When we entered the 1,800 seat theater my son insisted we sit in one of the front rows marked “soak zone.” Not my first choice, but also not my birthday trip. So we filed in the third row and sat in front of two people who were wearing ponchos. (If the “soak zone” warning wasn’t not enough, the ponchos should have been blatant foreshadowing of what was to come.)

We got settled in our seats and started watching the educational videos on the large display screen when I heard the large man directly behind me start to make loud involuntary noises. It was clear he was a person with special needs. I turned around to say “hello” and while he didn’t have too many words to share, I quickly struck up a conversation with the slightly older woman to his right. 

“This is my nephew. He loves the dolphin show, so we try to come every weekend.”

“Oh, that’s awesome. So y’all live here in town?”

“No, we live about two hours away.”

“And you drive here every weekend?”

“As many as we can. It’s his favorite thing. We usually sit in here for two or three dolphin shows and then head home.”

“I could tell y’all were pros with ponchos? How wet are we going to get?”

“It’s different every time.”

At that point the lights dimmed, the music came on, and within a few seconds a dolphin shot out of the 1.8-million-gallon tank and did a flip right in front of us. The man behind me shouted with delight and started cheering a garbled but unmistakable, “Go, dolphin, go!!” 

And go they did. The euphoric shouts behind us are exactly what I felt inside. Those dolphin shows have you laughing, crying, and rethinking every life choice you’ve ever made - wondering why you’re not an animal trainer and asking yourself if it’s not too late. 

I was caught up in it all, when I noticed the trainers call in their entire six dolphin squad and motion them in our direction. I didn’t actually see what happened next, I just remember diving behind the back of my almost eight-year-old, wondering when the tidal wave of cold salt water would turn off. When we finally came up for air, every part of our bodies, every article of clothing, was soaked. 

The show ended soon after our dousing, and as we stood up to wring out our shirts and find some place to warm up and dry off, my son looked up at me and said, “I would be more dry if I took a shower.” (knowing his halfhearted hygiene practices, I think this might be true.)

I turned to say goodbye to the folks behind us and saw them shaking off their ponchos.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had it that bad,” the woman chuckled.

“We’re gonna try to head outside and dry-off. Are y’all gonna come?”

“No, we’re pretty good under our ponchos. It’s easier for us to sit here and wait for the next show.”

“You’re brave,” I said. “Enjoy.”

After drying off outside, we spent the rest of the day passing by exhibits that featured electric eels, a giant pacific octopus, sea otters, jellyfish, and the flashlight fish that resembled underwater fireflies. I know this and you probably do too but sometimes it just needs to be said… Our natural world is so unbelievably phenomenal!! 

And yet… throughout the day we also learned about animal cruelty, and overfishing, and shark finning, and coral reef bleaching, and decreasing maritime habitat, and dwindling species numbers, and the fact that there is a floating mass in the Pacific comprised primarily of plastics that measures twice the size of Texas. TEXAS x TWO!!! (When we left and went to the Varsity to grab a bite before heading home, I nearly had a meltdown over my son grabbing a straw for his Frosted Orange shake.)

IMO, the best thing about the Atlanta Aquarium is that they foster an emotional connection with their animals while also teaching us about some of the challenges our aquatic world faces and equipping us with action steps to make a difference. 

I’m of the mindset that caring and having an emotional connection to our world is the only way we will be mobilized into action to make it better. I have also heard some say that the biggest obstacle to solving our many problems is that we have varying levels of personal connection to every public issue. As if our “caring” is spread too thin and there’s a competitive grab for the time, attention and resources necessary to make a difference.

I believe, just like the many different ecosystems we observed at the aquarium, that our caring is all connected. There is never one solution for one problem that fixes everything. Our problems are complex, they have lots of underlying causes and we need diverse solutions from people with different passions working towards common goals. 

Caring is also like a muscle that you can strengthen. And individuals who care deeply about one issue are more likely to be empathetic and supportive of other causes. We are not all going to be dolphin trainers and wildlife biologists. Some of us are going to spend most of our time and energy caring for our families. And the intersection of it all is that people who are well-cared for are better able to care for others - and the environment. 

So, regardless of whether you are rescuing and rehabilitating injured animals, trying to limit single use plastics at home, driving four hours round trip and sitting for multiple hours at a time in a soak zone for your adult nephew, or reminding the person in front of you how to unabashedly cheer for nature… Keep caring. It all counts. Also, if you want to sit in the first few rows of the dolphin show, bring a poncho.