The past 2 days have been a whirlwind. This year we toop our GS troop to Atlanta Aquarium with our cookie sale money. We left at 7:00 am on Sat. morning with 3 vehicles. First potty stop was in Freeport and I knew it was going to be a loooooooong ride. 
Around 4:30 EST we were in the GA. We were doing the all night stay so we entered in at the members area. It went very smooth and all the girls loved getting checked by security and their "magic wand". Our tour started at 5:30 so we headed to the eating area for dinner.
The food variety was better than I expected: pizza, chicken fingers, fried and grilled chicken sanwiches, burgers, hotdogs, cold salads (I had) fancy salads, fresh fruit, monster cookies, other desserts, etc. I thought that the prices were pretty good. We chowed down and took another potty break..(we are talking 6 adults and 13 girls)
After dinner we met in a room with the other overnight groups. I would say there was about 200 people in all. They divided us by our groups and we were off. Larkin was our guide.
The first stop for us was about whales. we were told about toothed whales and baleen whales. After we were 'taught' we were divided into groups and had to play whale feud!!! needless to say, the kids beat the adults...
(I dont think we were listening very well)
Other stops we had were viewing the tops of the large tanks which were "behind the scenes", private viewings of most of the beautiful tanks in the aquarium, touching the sting rays, sharks and anenomes.
One of my most favorite lessons was a room where various objects were placed on tables and a time line was laid out on the floor. We had to place the objects on the time line according to how long it took that object to decompose. The girls and adults were shocked on some of the items. The glass jar was listed at over 1 million years and styrofoam was an undecided amount. I loved how this was presented as it covered all areas of learning styles.
Another station was where we had to act out something that had to do with the environment and animals in some way. My group was about sea turtles and how man interferes with the laying of eggs and the hatchlings going back to sea. I think we did a good job.
Oh we could not speak, just act, lets just say it was not taped to be on youtube.
At another station I learned that Georgia had a coral reef off of its coast and also in Georgia that there are not any natural lakes. I could not believe it. The girls did a great job at this station b/c of us living by the coast. Some of the girls even asked the "teacher" some difficult questions!!!
Around 10:00 pm we were given our sleeping location. We had some VERY VERY tired girls and when we were told that we were sleeping by Nemo(clown fish) I was surprised that the girls did not come unglued. Unfortunately the adults did.
They were going to put us in a very small hall with 2 exhibits smaller than my tv. We were told upon reservation that we would be somewhere else. We explained to them how an expectation had been made b/c of one of their staff and if there was anything that they could do. Well I was impressed, because they did!!!
The manager let us sleep in the River area. We were the very first group to ever spend the night there. Some of the girls slept by baby alligators and turtles, some under catfish, some by cute baby otters and I, well, I think I was under an electric eel and some other fresh water creature.
We were provided cots to sleep on and I have to say, they were more comfortable than a blow up mattress. I think it took the girls forever to calm down (way too excited) and before we knew it, it was 6:00 am. :shock:
The gift shop which we did not get to go to the day before (b/c of too many potty breaks) was not open for 90 minutes after our scheduled time to leave. To our surprise our guide, Larkin, had arranged for us a private tour with a volunteer who has been involved in the GA since day 1. She took us where ever we wanted to go and was soooo knowledgeable. To see the Baluga whales first thing in the morning with nobody else around was more than any of the girls could ask for.
We went to the gift shop and racked up on souvineers. And left the city of Atlanta.
The GA has group nights but also family nights as well. It can be a group as small as 4 people. It is worth the $$. Check it out below....
http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/visitus/sleepover.aspx
I know this is probably not written in the best form, is probably not grammatically correct, and my words are probably not spelled correctly but I am tired and really dont care.
I just wanted to share our special weekend at one of my new favorite places. I know some vocal and lurker SoWalers kids went on this trip. Post of their adventures if I missed something you think is worth sharing....
The city of Atlanta has something to be proud of.
Around 4:30 EST we were in the GA. We were doing the all night stay so we entered in at the members area. It went very smooth and all the girls loved getting checked by security and their "magic wand". Our tour started at 5:30 so we headed to the eating area for dinner.The food variety was better than I expected: pizza, chicken fingers, fried and grilled chicken sanwiches, burgers, hotdogs, cold salads (I had) fancy salads, fresh fruit, monster cookies, other desserts, etc. I thought that the prices were pretty good. We chowed down and took another potty break..(we are talking 6 adults and 13 girls)
After dinner we met in a room with the other overnight groups. I would say there was about 200 people in all. They divided us by our groups and we were off. Larkin was our guide.
The first stop for us was about whales. we were told about toothed whales and baleen whales. After we were 'taught' we were divided into groups and had to play whale feud!!! needless to say, the kids beat the adults... (I dont think we were listening very well)Other stops we had were viewing the tops of the large tanks which were "behind the scenes", private viewings of most of the beautiful tanks in the aquarium, touching the sting rays, sharks and anenomes.
One of my most favorite lessons was a room where various objects were placed on tables and a time line was laid out on the floor. We had to place the objects on the time line according to how long it took that object to decompose. The girls and adults were shocked on some of the items. The glass jar was listed at over 1 million years and styrofoam was an undecided amount. I loved how this was presented as it covered all areas of learning styles.
Another station was where we had to act out something that had to do with the environment and animals in some way. My group was about sea turtles and how man interferes with the laying of eggs and the hatchlings going back to sea. I think we did a good job.
Oh we could not speak, just act, lets just say it was not taped to be on youtube. At another station I learned that Georgia had a coral reef off of its coast and also in Georgia that there are not any natural lakes. I could not believe it. The girls did a great job at this station b/c of us living by the coast. Some of the girls even asked the "teacher" some difficult questions!!!
Around 10:00 pm we were given our sleeping location. We had some VERY VERY tired girls and when we were told that we were sleeping by Nemo(clown fish) I was surprised that the girls did not come unglued. Unfortunately the adults did.
They were going to put us in a very small hall with 2 exhibits smaller than my tv. We were told upon reservation that we would be somewhere else. We explained to them how an expectation had been made b/c of one of their staff and if there was anything that they could do. Well I was impressed, because they did!!!The manager let us sleep in the River area. We were the very first group to ever spend the night there. Some of the girls slept by baby alligators and turtles, some under catfish, some by cute baby otters and I, well, I think I was under an electric eel and some other fresh water creature.
We were provided cots to sleep on and I have to say, they were more comfortable than a blow up mattress. I think it took the girls forever to calm down (way too excited) and before we knew it, it was 6:00 am. :shock:
The gift shop which we did not get to go to the day before (b/c of too many potty breaks) was not open for 90 minutes after our scheduled time to leave. To our surprise our guide, Larkin, had arranged for us a private tour with a volunteer who has been involved in the GA since day 1. She took us where ever we wanted to go and was soooo knowledgeable. To see the Baluga whales first thing in the morning with nobody else around was more than any of the girls could ask for.
We went to the gift shop and racked up on souvineers. And left the city of Atlanta.
The GA has group nights but also family nights as well. It can be a group as small as 4 people. It is worth the $$. Check it out below....
http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/visitus/sleepover.aspx
I know this is probably not written in the best form, is probably not grammatically correct, and my words are probably not spelled correctly but I am tired and really dont care.
I just wanted to share our special weekend at one of my new favorite places. I know some vocal and lurker SoWalers kids went on this trip. Post of their adventures if I missed something you think is worth sharing....The city of Atlanta has something to be proud of.
