PHOTOS: 20 years of the Georgia Aquarium

Arts & Entertainment

PHOTOS: 20 years of the Georgia Aquarium

The Georgia Aquarium celebrates 20 years in 2025. Take a look at the Atlanta institution through the years.

The dolphin exhibit is a multi-million dollar exhibit and the biggest expansion to date for the aquarium. The press got a sneak preview in 2011 of one of the pools in the 1.8 million gallon dolphin attraction which contain three dolphins, Phebe, Lily, and Shaka. (Bob Andrews/AJC file)

The centerpiece of Bernie Marcus' picture of downtown Atlanta is the Georgia Aquarium, in which he spent more than $200 million of his own money. (Ben Gray/AJC file)

The Georgia Aquarium added two new additions in 2006,a pair of female whale sharks named Trixie and Alice. The pair joined the two other whale sharks, males Ralph and Norton, making the Georgia Aquarium the only place outside of Asia to exhibit the huge, polka-dotted sharks. (Rich Addicks/AJC file)

Newlyweds Jason and Amy Wenker (cq), of Atlanta, view the Georgia Aquarium's Ocean Voyager tank from the tunnel in 2005. (Ben Gray/AJC file)

Yushan passes by two divers after Ocean Diver opened June 1, 2007. Two male whale sharks from Taiwan arrived in Atlanta before daylight Friday, coming to Georgia on a UPS 747 cargo plane that departed Taipei, Taiwan, the night before. (John Spink/AJC file)

Megan Morrisey, 10, of Suwanee likes the sea turtle of Georgia Explorer. The Georgia Aquarium opened its doors to the general public for the first time in 2005. At the time, the aquarium helds 8 million gallons of water and 100,000 animals. (John Spink/AJC file)

Valentines Day Kiss? Harbor seals spend half of their time in water and half on land. The Georgia Aquarium's new seals were born in 2009 and weigh between 86-116 pounds. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC file)

Beethoven (foreground) and Maris (background) swim by the glass in 2010. (John Spink/AJC file)

Justin Bieber and his beluga buddy during a visit to the Georgia Aquarium in 2011.

The Georgia Aquarium has had a distinctive presence in downtown Atlanta since 2005. (Phil Skinner/AJC file)

McKenzie Williams, 20 months, of Winder is checked out -- and checks out -- a sea lion on opening day of the Georgia Aquarium in 2005. (John Spink/AJC file)

Ten-year-old Meredith Mohr from Atlanta enjoys the sea nettles in 2005 when the Georgia Aquarium opened its doors to the general public for the first time. (John Spink/AJC file)

Georgia Aquarium Senior Animal Care Specialist Gina Fisher tells 9-year-old liver transplant recipient Dani Mitchell about Charlie, a 25 year old African Penguin during a hands on special visit at the aquarium during a special behind-the-scenes experience in 2007. (Bob Andres/AJC file)

Bernie Marcus sits in the round window at Ocean Voyager as a Hammerhead Shark swims by before the Georgia Aquarium opened to the public in 2005. (John Spink/AJC file)

Georgia Aquarium visitors in the acrylic tunnel in the Ocean Voyager exhibit watch a hammerhead shark swim by in 2009. (Bob Andres/AJC file)

"Scuba Santa" makes an appearance in the big window of the ocean voyager exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium in 2009. He answered questions from kids between breaths -- yes, Santa can talk underwater! (Bob Andres/AJC file)

Visitors watch whale sharks and other marine life at the Georgia Aquarium in 2015. (Bob Andres/AJC file)

Volunteer divers, Yoel Bakas (left) and Jim Eagens (right) clean the big window of Ocean Voyager in 2005. (John Spink/AJC file)

The Georgia Aquarium expanded since it opened in 2005. (Seeger Gray/AJC 2024)

Twins, from left, Agate and Darta Muceniece, 12, reach for cownose rays during the soft opening of the Explorer’s Cove exhibition at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta in 2024. (Arvin Temkar/AJC file)

Bernie Marcus, benefactor of the Georgia Aquarium, announced that the aquarium will open as the largest in the world in 2005. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC file)

The Georgia Aquarium has four belugas on display in 2014. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC file)

A cownose ray swims by at the Explorer’s Cove exhibition at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta on Wednesday, August 14, 2024. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

One of three penguins waddles down the ramp in front of a crowd during Party with the Penguins at the Georgia Aquarium in 2016. (Jonathan Phillips for the AJC)

A view of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta pictured on Sunday, June 30, 2024. (Seeger Gray / AJC)

Nima Dibba, from Gambia, takes a selfie in front of the aquarium tank. She was among 185 young people from more than 50 countries who took the oath of citizenship during a special ceremony at the Georgia Aquarium in 2015. (Bob Andres/AJC file)

Guests watch a visual display during a soft opening of the Explorer’s Cove exhibition at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta in 2024. (Arvin Temkar/AJC file)

President and Mrs. Carter and a group of family and friends visited the Georgia Aquarium in 2019. (Courtesy of Jessica Fontana)

Taroko the whale shark swims past two divers at the Georgia Aquarium Friday, June 1, 2007. Taroko died at the aquarium in 2025. (AJC file photo)

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Credit: bandres@ajc.com

The dolphin exhibit is a multi-million dollar exhibit and the biggest expansion to date for the aquarium. The press got a sneak preview in 2011 of one of the pools in the 1.8 million gallon dolphin attraction which contain three dolphins, Phebe, Lily, and Shaka. (Bob Andrews/AJC file)

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