Category — Chattanooga TN

A Journey thru Tennessee Aquarium

by Amy @ The Q Family

During the Labor day weeken, we took a day trip to Chattanooga. After a fun time at the Creative Discovery Museum, we headed out to Tennessee Aquarium which is right around the corner. It was way past lunch time so we needed to fill up our tummy tank before getting in. After a few undecided minutes, we ended up at the Genghis Grill. It’s the Build-Your-Own-Bowl Asian stir-fry restaurant. The food was alright but then I can’t blame the restaurant since I put all the ingredient myself. So I guess I can only blame myself. They actually do have recipes for you to follow if you want a certain dish. It was quick and easy. I wouldn’t mind going back there again. The kids enjoyed watching the grill masters cooked up the food with long wooden sticks.

After lunch, we headed out to get our tickets. While Mr. Rojo waited in line to purchase our tickets, I took Miss J and Mr. Z to walk around the small creek area in front of the Aquarium. Big note to self – DO NOT forget the bathing suits next time!!! I knew that there is river area that kids can enjoy especially on the hot day. I completely forgot to pack extra clothes for them. Well, I let them walk around anyway (against my better judgement). I figured if I told them not to get wet, they won’t get wet!! Must be lack of sleep on my part. It was going so well. No major wetness… until … Mr. Rojo was done and headed our way. While I was busy calling him and packing my camera, I heard Mr. Z cried.. And yup.. He fell down and totally soaked!! Sorry. No picture here as I was too occupied trying to figure what we were gonna do. We hadn’t even started in the Aquarium yet. We walked around trying to find any clothing stores. Why don’t they sell pants in the gift shop!!!! No luck. So we figured we could go to the bathroom and hope that the bathroom has the hand blower.

We started our journey at the River building. First stop – rest room. Well, it would be too easy if they have the hand blower, wouldn’t it? So I was in the bathroom and paintakingly squeezed his pant using the paper towel. It was still damp but he said it was ok. So we headed to the first exhibit which is the Seahorse. After the seahorse, we headed upstairs to really start the River Journey. The escalator took us all the way up to the top floor and we were greeted by the outdoor setting of mountain top. It was so neat! I really liked it here. I love the top floor that showed the waterfall to teach kids where the river comes from. Walking through there was so peaceful and so nice. Eventhough it was a hot day, the trees and the mist helped mask the heat.

Going to the Aquarium with young children was like taking a speed train through the whole thing. They bounced off from one exhibit to the next. We hardly had time to read about it. But from what I can grasp, the Aquarium has 2 buildings. One is mainly the River journey. This was where we started. First we started off with River in the area- mainly Tennessee River. Then we walked through River around the world. It was a great learning experience not only for children but us as well.

Here is Miss J trying to measure up a giant fish.

They were doing pretty well so far. It was a long day for both of them and I had to say they didn’t cause much trouble. I think they really enjoyed the Aquarium as much as we did. I was tired… but wait.. We were not done yet! We still had the whole other building to check out. So we walked past the gift shop pretty quickly. Save some money here from the souvenir. :)

The Ocean Journey started off at the top floor as well. The view of the Tennessee River was amazing. I could just sit here in the rocking chair and let them run off. The first exhibit was the Penguin. There were several penguins but they didn’t move much. Guess we came in after their dinner time.

After the Penguin, we headed to the Tropical Cove. Again.. my favorite for the outdoor feel and a touching tank. Kids could touch sting ray and shark in this tank. Unfortunately, the tank was a bit too deep for Mr. Z. Poor boy, he was trying so hard to chase the sting ray for a chance of touching him. But he was too small. We probably need to dunk him in there to be able to touch them. Mr. Rojo got a few underwater pictures of someone else touching the shark. I did touch the shark though. His skin was very rough. It was totally opposite from the sting ray which the skin was so smooth almost like velvet. Next to the Tropical Cove was the Butterfly. It was so neat to get to walk through and see the butterflies up close.

Then we headed down the escalator for the Ocean Journey. Mr. Z really enjoyed his quiet time with his pal. I can see we will be taking many more trips back to the GA Aquarium soon. Last year we went 3 times! My lack of preparation wasn’t stopped at just no spare clothes. With our luck, our camera batteries were dying. And we brought 2 cameras with us. Go figure! So by the time, we walked down to check out several sharks and with so many photo ops, our cameras were dead in the water!

I was able to get a few shots of the sharks and it wasn’t even that good. Oh! well, I tried! At the end of the journey, we were all pretty wiped out. We were there so late that the gift shop was already closed. Guess it wasn’t meant for us to spend money on souvenir there.

Before we headed home, we decided to have dinner there. Our first choice was Sticky Fingers. It was a great place for BBQ but with the wait of over an hour. I guess we can wait till next trip. We then walked around the block and it seeme
d everyone else was doing the same thing. We ended up at Cheeburger Cheeburger. The wait was only 15 minutes so we were all for that. A quick and great meal and we now were ready to head home. Overall, it was a great day trip! We are looking forward to coming back here again.

September 8, 2008 8 Comments

A Fun Day at Creative Discovery Museum

by Amy @ The Q Family

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Chattanooga. Mr. Rojo has wanted to go to the Tennessee Aquarium for a while now. So we decided to take a day trip during a long weekend. Originally, I planned to stay overnight and make a side trip to Huntville to check out the Space Center. But with our up-coming beach trip, we decided to just do a day trip.

Chattanooga is about 2 1/2 hours from where we live so it wasn’t so bad for the drive there except we took a local highway instead of state highway. But we still got there at the same time.

We got there right before noon. It wasn’t that busy when we got in. The fun began even before we got in the door. There is a huge bubble making that allows you to get inside and pull the ring up. It was a great challenge to see if you can put your whole body inside the bubble. I wish I would have tried it. Maybe next time.

The first stop – River Play. The kids just ran there without waiting for us and stayed there for a good 30-40 minutes. It was a really neat water play for kids. They got to learn about how the water is used. How the dam is built and what is the impact when you build the dam. Good thing I was quick to ask them to put the rain coat on before they started playing. Some kids got soaked. I think the part they love the most is the water shooter that 2 kids can play together and see who got the most power to make the wheel spin.

Next to the River Play was a play structure that teaches about the Wind. The structure is big enough that adult is allowed to go up there. It was so neat. I didn’t think I want to leave that play structure yet. But then we realized that there were more to see and do in the museum.

We walked inside and they zoomed right past the craft table. Guess my kids are not that into crafting. We stopped by the clinic. They can pretend to be a doctor, check out the nose (big fat nose with hair nonetheless), look at the x-ray and measure themselves. Miss J was very fascinating with all the organ on display including a big skeleton.

Then we went to the inventor room. Mr. Z was busy playing with the remote control car that other parents had built it. It was so neat. If we have any time, we might try to build one ourselves. Then they were off to Music and Art room. It was very interesting in each room as they had a lot of hand-on activities for children to try on. The Music room had different kinds of intruments for them to try their hands on. The Art room had different station for them to create their own art ranging from painting, priting and self-portrait.

Last stop on 1st floor was the Dinosaur room. With a big Dinosaur greeted us, they went right pass him to the dig area. Basically, it was a big sand box with dinosaur bones buried underneath. I think they could literally spend the whole day in that room. Mr. Z tended to dig too hard and throw his sand all over himself and anyone who was near him. I had to keep reminding him to do it gently.

Then we found out that there was more than 1 floor. Duh!! So we headed upstair for the special Clifford exhibit. It was a really nice treat as we are currently reading Clifford books at home. They had a chance to check out Clifford’s house, his library, the playground and climbed on Big Red Dog himself.

Then we took a short walk up to the top floor to check out the downtown view and see the bee colony on the rooftop. On the other side of the building, the outdoor fun was there awaiting. The rooftop fun had several structures for them to play with. The best one has to be the lifting chair. Children can sit on the chair and buckle up then they can lift themselves off the ground. It was pretty hot that day so we didn’t stay long outside.

By the time we knew it, it was almost 2pm. So it was time to wrap up as we still had one more place to go – the Tennessee Aquarium. This was a really great Children Museum. We like it so much that we purchased the membership. The national membership will allow us to also visit other children museum around the country.

September 2, 2008 6 Comments

13 Things to Do in Chattanooga

by Amy @ The Q Family

Chattanooga is only about a couple hours drive from Atlanta. We have been there once for a day out with Thomas The Tank Engine train ride. But we are planning to go back there again. Here are some of the fun, family-friendly things to do in Chattanooga.

1) The Tennessee Aquarium: This is one our must-do list our next trip to Chattanooga. The aquarium is situated right on the waterfront in Chattanooga downtown with small water creek between the two buildings. The ticket price is $19.95 for adult and $12.95 for child (age 3-12). There are also several combo tickets for IMAX, River George Explorer and Creative Discovery Museum.

2) Inclined Railway: Hop on the trolley-style railcars that take you up the side of Lookout Mountain in one of the steepest passenger railway. It was a really fun experience when we went there last year. Once you get to the top, you can enjoy the view from the Lookout Mountain and check out the little gift shop there. You can purchase ticket online for $14 per adult and $7 per child (3-12). They also have Lookout Mountain Triple Play ticket (including Incline, Rock City & Ruby Falls) for $42 per adult and $23 per child.

3) Creative Discovery Museum: Check out the hands-on children’s museum. Especially now till September 28, you will get to have the adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog. The ticket price is $8.95 for anyone older than 2 years old. However, we consider getting a member with the children museum since one of the highest level of membership is the nationwide level that allows you to enjoy free admission to various children museum nationwide through the Association of Children’s Museum reciprocal program.

4) Rock City: Go up the Lookout Mountain and check out Rock City featuring massive ancient rock formations, gardens and see 7 States (on a clear day)

5) Ruby Falls: Hike to Ruby Falls, the 145 foot underground waterfall beneath the Lookout Mountain’s surface.

6) Bluff View Art District: Take a nice stroll in this historic neighborhood filled with restaurants, coffee houses, art gallery or take a break at one of the gardens, plazas or courtyards.

7) Walnut Street Bridge: Cross the Tennessee river on one of the longest pedestrian bridge from Chattanooga’s downtown to the North Shore. Enjoy the leisure walk over the river.

8) Coolidge Park: Take a break and bring the kids to the Coolidge park to enjoy the restored 100 year old carousel and an interactive play fountain. Admission fee is $1.00 for adults and $0.50 for children 12 and under.

9) Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum: All aboard!!! Go ride with the TVRail that offers a wide variety of rides to suit your needs. Check out the schedule and price online. Also check out for special ride like Day Out with Thomas or North Pole Limited during special events.

10) Chattanooga Choo Choo: Stay in the one of the coolest hotel. The Chattanooga Choo Choo by Holiday Inn offers the train fanatic a chance to sleep aboard an authentic train car. Oh.. Mr. Z had a blast last year when we stayed there. He couldn’t stop asking when the train will move. The hotel area also features several trains that they can enjoy and nice garden in the middle of the area. Lovely.. lovely place!

11) Chattanooga Nature Center: For the nature lover, this is a great place to visit. Explore the Blue Heron boardwalk, Wildlife Wanderland and Discovery Forest Treehouse. The admission fee is relatively low $7 for adults and $3 for children (4-11)

12) Southern Belle Riverboat: Take a river cruise along the scenic Tennessee River on the Chattanooga Riverboat. With current promotion of Kid is free for every paying adult, it’s a great deal. There are several types of cruise to choose from ranging from sightseeing, lunch or dinner cruise. There will be one that suits your need.

13) Chickamauga Dam Reservation: Picnic by the Dam and enjoy the view. For the outdoor enthusiasts, enjoy fishing, boating and swimming at this no-fee reservation.