For more than 33 years, the Tennessee Aquarium has received broad community support for its nonprofit mission. Initial investments for constructing the River Journey building (Opened in 1992) and the Ocean Journey building (Opened in 2005) totaled $75 million. Each year, the Aquarium returns $187 million in economic benefits to the community. Beyond being an economic engine, philanthropic gifts continue funding expansions to our educational programs and scientific fieldwork to protect and restore the region’s freshwater species and their habitats.
Generous community support also helps drive innovative new exhibits, additional expertise, and veterinary resources to ensure the highest level of care for the animals in our care.
The ripple effects of these gifts, of all sizes, have profoundly impacted our community and the Southeast. We thank you for your support, and we’re confident that together, the next 30 years will be as impactful.
Current & Upcoming Projects
The Tennessee Aquarium S.T.R.E.A.M. Learning Center
The Tennessee Aquarium strives to connect all children with nature through enriching and engaging experiential learning programs facilitated by passionate, expert educators. Our Education Department seeks to spark curiosity, build empathy, and create opportunities to take action in conservation and science.
The new S.T.R.E.A.M. Learning Center (Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Arts, Math) will be a hub for the Aquarium’s educational offerings. It will serve as a home for: educational programs like Sea Sprouts, River Teachers (professional development), all seasonal camps, and more!
The center’s unique design features three flexible learning spaces with opportunities for hands-on experiences related to water and wildlife that are not available in traditional school classrooms. Each immersive learning space has a distinctive theme to encourage deeper exploration through fun and interactive educational programming.
This project is currently in progress and will be completed fall 2025.
Coming in 2026: Scuttlebutt Reef gallery
This extraordinary new gallery in the Ocean Journey building will lead guests on a global learning adventure. Twelve new habitats will teem with hundreds of mesmerizing creatures. Visitors will marvel at nearly two dozen saltwater species, each with a unique story about life beneath the waves. From enchanting to bizarre, visitors will discover the truth behind the “scuttlebutt” of these wonderfully weird creatures and how they hold the keys to understanding our planet’s intricate marine ecosystems.
The gallery will feature a “nautical” theme, including weathered wood planking, accents that appear to be the rusty steel of a merchant vessel, with rivets and portholes throughout. Rather than trying to transport guests to a specific geographic location, Scuttlebutt Reef allows guests to embark upon a saltwater adventure to reef ecosystems throughout the world’s ocean. This enables us to introduce visitors to various colorful and unusual marine species. Tactile learners will enjoy touchable replicas of coral as well as bilingual touch screen monitors that unlock the truth behind the scuttlebutt that may have been passed down for generations.
One of the showcase exhibits is a large living coral reef designed to allow wheelchair access and a “selfie station under the sea.” This feature will also be large enough for families to create memorable photographs together.
Tennessee Aquarium Veterinary Medical Hospital
On March 24, 2025, the Tennessee Aquarium again earned accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). This certification is considered the “Gold Standard” in animal care and overall operations. Standards of excellence constantly evolve as science informs the best practices, leading to innovations in animal wellbeing and management of all taxon groups in human care at the Aquarium.
Our veterinary program has evolved and adapted to uphold a level of care that not only meets but exceeds the standards of excellence outlined in the AZA Accreditation standards. Our husbandry teams work together to ensure that all animals in our care thrive within their specialized habitats, and many enjoy lifespans exceeding the median life expectancy for their respective species.
As we look to the future, our team recognizes the need to modernize and expand our veterinary capabilities to keep pace with the growing demands of our care, research, and educational programs. This essential initiative will enhance the well-being of our animals and elevate the state of the Aquarium’s veterinary care and scientific research for decades to come.
This project is currently in the research and development phase.
Recently Completed Projects
The following projects were completed thanks to the support from generous Aquarium donors and partners.
New Giant Pacific Octopus Exhibit
Our Giant Pacific Octopus exhibit has been moved from the species’ long-time home in the Boneless Beauties gallery to a new habitat in the Island Life gallery. This new location mirrors the species’ geographic range in the cold waters of the northern Pacific Ocean.
The brighter exhibit also offers guests improved looks at this much-admired animal, all the better for observing its color-changing ability and other fascinating adaptations.
Race for the Laurel Dace
At the height of a prolonged drought last summer, the Tennessee Aquarium and its partners leaped into action to prevent the extinction of the Laurel Dace, a critically endangered minnow found only on Walden Ridge near Spring City, Tennessee, just an hour away from Chattanooga.
Later in 2024 (Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3), the Aquarium turned to the public for help safeguarding this embattled minnow, asking for donations to the Race for the Laurel Dace campaign, which funded research, additional equipment, and Aquarium staff time needed to care for the fish.
In partnership with the Town of Spring City and Visit Spring City, the Aquarium hosted Laurel Dace Day on May 17, 2025. This event helped raise awareness of the critically endangered Laurel Dace and included a 5K race, half-mile fun run, live music, a local farmer’s market, craft vendors and activities featuring Aquarium educators.
Oscar’s Outdoor Pool
As part of his annual care regimen, one of the Aquarium’s rescued Green Sea Turtles, Oscar, is shifted to a specially designed outdoor system during the summer months. There, he can reap the many health benefits of exposure to sunlight.
Ridges to Rivers Gallery
This gallery was designed, from the ground up, to shine a spotlight on Southern Appalachia’s vibrant aquatic life, which often goes unseen except by the lucky few who have the opportunity to dip their heads into a stream.
As they explore Ridges to Rivers’ dynamic, multi-sensory exhibits, guests see, hear and touch — perhaps for the first time — some of the beautiful, often-charismatic species living in waterways they drive by, swim in, or even live next to.
If you would like to learn more about our upcoming initiatives, please contact Melanie King, Vice President, Chief Development Officer at 423-785-4038 or [email protected].
