Fish!

As a teacher, I know the rules of field trips. The first day back from Spring Break is not the day you take your class {or the entire 6th grade} on a field trip. {It's, shall we say, frowned upon.} But, when you're a Mama who has the joy of being home with her son, that day makes for THE PERFECT DAY to go the Georgia Aquarium.

We had front row viewing to every exhibit. We sat in the tunnel admiring the whale sharks for at least 20 minutes and never inconvenienced a single person.

And we got to see the dolphins. The dolphin exhibit has finally opened and those creatures are just so much fun. Jack got to sit in front of the glass as they played for their admirers.

As a matter-of-fact, this was his face for most of the day:

Since we got to the aquarium at 10 we were able to see the whale sharks being fed. That was incredible. The two photos below try to capture the spectacle...

Notice the raft to the side of the whale shark. That raft is connected to a wire above the tank that the care giver is connected to for safety. When they make the trek back to the side of the tank the whale sharks follow closely.

Whale Sharks are herbivores. So when they open their mouths WIDE to eat the plankton and other plants given to them, some fish get sucked in. The fish that is directly in front of the whale shark's mouth in this picture just got spit back out. It was incredible to see. {Jonah, anyone?}

The last three photos were some of Jackson's favorites.

Jellyfish ~

The black light on these creatures allows you to see every tentacle.

PIRANHA!!

And this fish is just so odd. Jackson kept saying "Face? Face?"