The Tennessee Aquarium and Callaway Gardens, two favorite weekend and vacation destinations for metro Atlantans, are debuting new attractions this week.
On Thursday, the downtown Chattanooga aquarium opens Ranger Rick’s Backyard Safari, an exhibit featuring live animal encounters -- a Eurasian eagle owl and talking Amazon parrot, among other creatures -- intended to encourage families to tune into nature.
In partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, the aquarium exhibit is a first-time attempt to bring the pages of Ranger Rick magazine to life in a museum setting. Since 1967, young readers have followed the wise and clever title raccoon and pals including Boomer Badger and Scarlett Fox as they wander the globe confronting environmental issues.
In Pine Mountain on Saturday, Callaway makes a play of its own for nature lovers, opening TreeTop Adventure, in which the outdoors-oriented can zip through tree tops and cross swinging bridges.
The new feature is sited behind the Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center, providing tree-limb views of 175-acre Mountain Creek Lake and Pine Mountain Ridge. Guests, who must be at least 54 inches tall and weigh less than 260 pounds, can participate in 24 games or challenges as they zip from elevated platform to platform.
Ranger Rick’s Backyard Safari is included in Tennessee Aquarium admission: $24.95 adults, $14.95 ages 3-12. Information: 1-800-262-0695, www.tnaqua.org.
TreeTop Adventure is $30 (in addition to gardens admission: $18 adults, $15 ages 65 and older, $9 ages 6-12). Information: 1-800-225-5292, www.callawaygardens.com/treetop.
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