The Georgia Aquarium will open a three-times-larger expansion of its otter exhibit to the public Saturday, the aquarium announced Wednesday — the first major renovation of an animal habitat since the Sea Lion Reef opened in 2020.
The expansion is timed for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which begins in Atlanta on June 15 and is expected to draw more than 700,000 visitors to the city’s downtown attractions over four weeks.
“We are betting on Atlanta’s biggest tourism summer in a generation. The otter exhibit has been one of our most popular since it opened, and tripling its size lets us do more with both the animals and the guests.”
— Brian Davis, Georgia Aquarium president and CEO
What’s new
The expansion replaces the aquarium’s existing North American river otter habitat with a three-zone exhibit that adds:
- Asian small-clawed otters — a smaller species native to Southeast Asia, new to the aquarium’s collection
- A larger deep-water swim tank for the river otters
- An underwater viewing window for both species
- Three times the visitor capacity of the previous exhibit
- Two new keeper-talk stations that will host daily programming
The expansion cost the aquarium about $8.5 million, funded entirely from the aquarium’s operating budget, Davis said.
What’s the same
The existing North American river otters — Otto, Biscuit, and Puck — will continue to live in the exhibit alongside the new arrivals. Three Asian small-clawed otters will arrive from the Bronx Zoo later this month under a breeding-loan agreement, the aquarium said.
The popular underwater feeding demonstration will return at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily, with a new twilight feeding added at 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays during the summer.
Why now
The aquarium is one of Atlanta’s most-visited ticketed attractions, drawing about 2.5 million visitors in a typical year. The aquarium’s leadership says the expansion was already on the calendar — but that the timing, coinciding with the World Cup, presented an opportunity the aquarium couldn’t pass up.
“The World Cup brings a kind of visitor to Atlanta we don’t normally see — first-time international visitors, families who have never been to the city. We want their first impression to be unforgettable.”
— Brian Davis, Georgia Aquarium president and CEO
The aquarium has also added multilingual signage throughout its galleries, in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German, in preparation for the tournament.
What else is new this summer
The aquarium has also announced several other additions for 2026:
- The return of Glow Nights, an adults-only after-hours event with cocktails and live music, on the third Friday of every month from June through September
- A new “Sharks After Dark” evening program on Saturdays in July and August
- Expanded behind-the-scenes tour offerings, including a new beluga encounter
Tickets for the new otter exhibit go on sale Saturday at georgiaaquarium.org.
Kira Tomlinson covers Atlanta’s food, arts, and family scene for WACN 21. Reach her at ktomlinson@wacn21.com.
