Here are five reasons the Tennessee Aquarium is the ideal place to wind down your summer before the changing of the season:

1. Check in on baby Soleil.

Earlier this year, bells were ringing in the Lemur Forest exhibit with the somewhat unexpected arrival of the Aquarium’s first lemur to be born on-site. Red-collared Brown Lemur Soleil (French for “sun”) is now a bounding bundle of energy and can often be seen on exhibit learning what acrobatic mischief she can get up to while trying the patience of mom, Kintana, and dad, John.

 

2. Get a few extra splashes in on the Aquarium Plaza.

The artificial stream, fountains and The Passage memorial honoring the Trail of Tears are popular sources of sweet heat relief when the mercury climbs. With projected temperatures in the 90s during Labor Day weekend, holiday visitors will be among the last to enjoy these water features before they’re shut off until next spring.

 

3. Embark on a full-day adventure from the depths of the ocean to the top of the mountains.

Introduced last year, the Tennessee Aquarium + Rock City Combo Ticket offers visitors to the Scenic City (or stay-cationing locals) the opportunity to save by bundling admission to two of Chattanooga’s most iconic attractions into one single-day experience. Combo passes are $64 for adults and $54 for ages 4-17. Children 3 and under receive free admission to the Aquarium and Rock City. This limited-time promotion is only purchasable online and ends Oct. 31.

4. Experience the summer’s biggest hit on the city’s biggest screen.

When it hit theaters in July, director Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey set records as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. Much of the buzz surrounding this modern interpretation of Homer’s 3,000-year-old epic poem has been Nolan’s use of 70mm IMAX film in its creation. Thanks to reinstalling its legacy 70mm film projector earlier this year, the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX Theater is one of only a handful of facilities on the planet that can show the year’s most-talked-about film in its intended format.

Guests can still check out the film on the theater’s massive, six-story screen during an extended run through September.

 

5. Sun’s gone, fun’s on with extended hours during Labor Day weekend.

Guests visiting during normal operating hours see just one side of the Aquarium’s 13,000 residents. Like people, however, there are just as many night owls as early birds beneath the iconic glass peaks of the Ocean Journey and River Journey buildings.

During Labor Day weekend, guests can take advantage of extended operating hours to drop by earlier or later and see how crepuscular (dusk- or dawn-active) animals like Epaulette Sharks, North American River Otters and Red-ruffed Lemurs become more active as the sun approaches the horizon.

Labor Day weekend operating hours:

• Friday, Sept. 4 — 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 5 — 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
• Sunday, Sept. 6 — 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Monday, Sept. 7 — 9 a.m.-7 p.m.