Yesterday I started my gallery training at the Georgia Aquarium. There are 5 different galleries, so we go thru 3-4 hour training in each one. Started off with the "Cold Water Quest". Small class of 8 and most had been with the Aquarium for several months and were re-taking it as a refresher.

The class began in the classroom where we went over some basics about the exhibit. Then we went thru each station, going over the specifics and asking questions. TONS of information to absorb.

What was the coolest was that this happened while the Aquarium was closed. We had the floor all to ourselves. I don't know if I'll ever want to go back during regular hours. It was so peaceful and the animals were often really curious to watch back.

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The South African Penguins were fun to watch. They were staring me down at times. The trainer said that a little girl showed up at the exhibit with a stuffed penguin from the gift shop in front of the display. The penguins were following her around intently for the length of the display as if "how did that one get out?"

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Then we watched the Otters for ages. They are so entertaining and quite mischieveous. The pair, Oz and Gracie, are on birth control. I didn't ask if she was on the pill or they used Otter Condoms.

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Next were the Japanese Spider Crabs. They can grow to the point where their armspan is bigger than a VW Bug. Unfortunately, they live at depths of 1000ft, so when you're jonesing for some crab legs, you'll have to look elsewhere.

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Finally, we came upon the reason why I took the Cold Water Quest training first. The Belugas. One of the most popular exhibits at the Aquarium. They are so much fun to watch. They interact with you - watching you thru the glass. Apparently they are VERY territorial, one of the guys in the class is a diver with the aquarium. He said that they are not allowed to make eye contact with the Belugas and after about an hour of cleaning in the tank, they start getting very nervous and start acting more aggressive, 'buzzing' the divers. (At which point they are told to get down on the floor of the tank, face down.) We finished off the training at the top of the tank - watching them from above. Was really cool to see - I realized that they don't have a dorsal fin - like a dolphin or a shark - because they do so much of their diving in icy waters, a dorsal fin might get in the way of the ice. You don't really realize it when you're watching them underwater - but it's really odd looking from above.

Still, after training, I hung out watching the Belugas by myself for about 20 minutes. So peaceful. I'm going to purposely take my gallery training classes when the Aquarium is closed so I can roam.

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