Chattanooga, Tenn. (Sept. 24, 2024) – While exploring the Tennessee Aquarium’s Rivers of the World gallery, guests will chance upon a highly unusual feast.
Inside the Aquarium’s newest exhibit, a writhing horde of many-legged creatures are putting their mandibles to work gnawing winding tunnels through a block of bone-white material.
Only this smorgasbord isn’t made of coconut, tofu or cauliflower. It’s polystyrene foam.
These mad munchers are known as “superworms,” the larval life stage of Central American Darkling Beetles. Although they’ll eat just about anything, a cocktail of bacteria in their guts allows these insects to actually gain nutritional value from one of the leading sources of plastic waste. This ability is certainly unusual, making the superworm exhibit’s arrival an ideal kickoff to ODDtober, the Aquarium’s October-long celebration of the weird and wonderful side of nature.
Superworms’ astounding digestive feat is just one of many strange adaptations guests will learn about while visiting the Aquarium during October. They’ll also encounter sea stars that eat by ejecting their stomach over their prey (yes, on the outside of their body), or loveable Clownfish that withstand the deadly stings of anemones thanks to an extra-thick layer of mucus.
The Aquarium is celebrating these natural oddities by featuring them in videos on its social media channels as well as fun “movie” posters that evoke the spirit of classic monsters of the silver screen. Visit the gift shop and mention the special password — it’s “ODDtober” — to receive a free sticker featuring stylized illustrations of a Superworm, Goonch Catfish, Alligator Snapping Turtle or sea star.
As guests explore during their ODDtober visit, they’ll enjoy festive decorations like pumpkin lights that flicker to life in time with the energetic discharges of an Electric Eel or seasonal trappings that lend extra swamp chic to the Alligators’ home in the Delta Country gallery.
An American Alligator carries a pumpkin in the Tennessee Aquarium's Delta Country swamp.
Throughout the River Journey and Ocean Journey buildings, educators will surprise and delight visitors with unscheduled programs that offer fun insights into some of the Aquarium’s most unusual and eclectic residents. There will also be special ODDtober-themed treats for the animals and stimulation offered as part of daily enrichment opportunities in the Lemur Forest and River Otter Falls exhibits.
Underwater pumpkin carving returns this year as well. Every Saturday at 2 p.m., SCUBA divers will descend into either the River Giants exhibit or Tennessee River gallery to craft gourd-geous jack-o’-lanterns while surrounded by schools of swirling fish and curious turtles.
ODDtober concludes with the Aquarium’s annual family-friendly celebration, Aquascarium, on Friday, Oct. 25. Guests can dress in their Halloween finest for this spooky (but not too spooky) after-hours event. While exploring lavishly decorated galleries, they’ll meet beloved costumed characters handing out handfuls of goodies at candy stations throughout both buildings.
Aquascarium begins at 4 p.m., with final entry at 7 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance online and are $8 for Aquarium members or $38 for non-members ages 5 and up. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Spooky season and films go hand in hand, and the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater offers a wealth of selections during October.
Daily 45-minute films:
- T. REX 3D uses stunning CGI to explore the natural history of the dinosaur world’s “tyrant lizard king” through the lens of three boys who discovered the fossilized remains of a teenage Tyrannosaurus Rex in the North Dakota badlands.
- Animal Kingdom 3D introduces the animal kingdom’s families to yours with remarkable footage of soaring birds, hard-working insects, swimming fish, remarkable mammals and cold-blooded reptiles and amphibians.
- Blue Whales: Return of the Giants 3D explores the complex relationship between our planet’s largest mammals and the health of our ocean ecosystems.
Feature-length films:
- Joker: Folie à Deux plays Monday, Sept. 30-Thursday, Oct. 24. The sequel to 2019’s Joker, Folie à Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. Rated R.
- Venom: The Last Dance premieres Friday, Oct. 25. The final film in Sony’s Venom trilogy, Eddie Brock and Venom are on the run and pursued by hunters from both of their worlds. Not yet rated.
The National Geographic Photo Ark exhibit will continue to be exhibited during October and through the end of 2024. Photographer Joel Sartore has spent 17 years on an ambitious quest to create stunning images of all 25,000 animal species living in human care at zoos, aquariums and wildlife sanctuaries worldwide. Two dozen enormous portraits, including many made by Sartore of Tennessee Aquarium residents, are on display throughout River Journey, Ocean Journey and the IMAX 3D Theater.
Those who want to get in on the pumpkin carving fun at home — without all the dive gear — can try their hand at creating their Aquarium-themed masterpiece with printable templates available at tnaqua.org/app/uploads/2023/10/aquascarium-pumpkin-outlines-final.pdf
ODDtober is sponsored by Food City.
To learn more about ODDtober and Aquascarium, visit tnaqua.org/oddtober/