Another Mile Another Destination Blog: Flint RiverQuarium, Albany, Georgia

“Underwater, I experience space with my body. I’ll see a school of fish gathering and moving together and I’ll exclaim, This is architecture.”

Antoine Predock

Strolling up to the entrance of Flint RiverQuarium, you can’t help but to notice how the architecture of this building blends in with nature. It was beautifully designed by Antoine Predock, an American architect who is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. What a beautiful building to house the RiverQuarium located right on the banks of the Flint River on Pine Avenue in Albany, Georgia.

Whale bone

Butterfly Fish

Exotic Cichlids

This building came into being after the “Great Flood of 1994” which covered an area of Georgia the size of Massachusetts and Rhode Island when Tropical Storm Alberto struck. The flood waters split Albany in half and the flood waters reached 43 feet high and killed 31 people. That was a horrible storm and was a very sad time in history. This building was part of the rebuilding of the city. It opened in 2004.

Red Hole Spring

This is a non-profit organization that features over one hundred different creatures and a unique open air aquarium that is fed by the Blue Hole Spring. This aquarium has an area that is 54,000 square feet with 175,000 gallons of water and is 22 feet deep and is loaded with diverse aquatic life from the Flint River.

Seahorse

It is time to check it out. We walked up to the counter to pay at the counter and showed our military ID’s and were told it was free this month for military. What a wonderful surprise. We would have gladly paid but they just said they appreciated Joe’s service and for that we felt honored. The normal costs are very reasonable. It is only $9 an adult, youth – ages 4-12 - $6.50, college students - $5.50, 0-3 years old - no charge, and military usually gets in for a dollar off the ticket price. Look on the internet for discount tickets as many times they have them on Groupon.

Sturgeon

When we started walking around, we were so impressed and couldn’t believe how remarkable this place really was. The open air aquarium was sensational as there were some fish that were easily four feet long. Standing there watching the fish swim right by us was so thrilling. I could have stayed there for hours just watching all the different varieties of fish swim by and knowing they were only inches away from us. I was glad to be on the outside looking in.

Gar

There were loads smaller aquariums with lots of fish from the Flint River to see as well as some very exotic fish from all around the world. It was extremely impressive. Some of the really different species of fish and aquatic creatures to see were: a Batfish, Coral Catshark, various eels, Red-bellied Pirhana, exotic Cichlids, a Gila Monster, an albino alligator, regular alligators, and turtles. Fascinating.

Eel

Batfish

Turtles

Batfish

While you are there, you can learn the story of the Flint River and see the 350 mile journey from Atlanta to the Gulf of Mexico. They have alligator feedings, animal presentations, and on Saturday and Sundays, you can see Dive shows. There is also a unique theater to watch movies on the weekends that is three stories high and four stories wide. Now that is bigger than life.

Discovery Caves

Alligators

Moonshine the albino alligator

There is also Discovery Caves for the kids to crawl around and get up close and personal with the fish. What a great idea and creative design for the children to climb all around and explore. There is also Spring-Run Creek which is the alligators home. Seeing Moonshine, the ghostly albino alligator, was fascinating. Moonshine is one of only 100 albino alligators in the world. That sure was a rare and special site to see. We were fascinated with Moonshine but he didn’t seem all that interested in us.

Moonshine

Cypress Pond Aviary

Cypress Pond Aviar

Fake alligator -scary

Cypress Pond Aviary is a 35 feet high enclosed area for seeing birds from the area. It is beautifully set up with a small pond for them to enjoy. When we stepped outside the door, there was a cement alligator that looked real and scared the begeebers out of me at first sight. I almost went running.

Rainfall globe

You can book events here and they even host sleepovers. How fun would it be to have a child’s birthday party.

Gila Monster

The mission of the Flint RiverQuarium is to promote conservation through aquatic exhibits and to educate and entertain audiences. We were very well entertained and educated. They achieved their goal. This was a great stop and if you are every in Albany, this is a must see. You will not regret it. It gets a big thumbs up.