June 2, 2017
While visiting the Georgia Aquarium with my mom, we were walking through the Ocean Voyager exhibit, and I was wondering aloud. My mom suggested I ask the guide, but I didn't want to bother him (people tend to get annoyed with my constant line of questioning). She approached him anyway and got his attention for me. As I started talking with him, my mom sat down and took the photo of us standing in front of the tank.
I could tell the guide was enjoying my curiosity and our conversation, so I asked a lot of questions from where they got the water, salt to water ratio, tank filtration/size/temperature, how the glass was made and quality assured, and of course, what software they use to control it all. I was more interested in the engineering and maintenance of the tank than the animals. It was fascinating!
I thanked the guide for answering my questions and sat next to my mom. A few minutes later, he came back over to us and said to follow him. He used his employee key to get us on an elevator and took us to an employee only area to see the top of the tank!
I'm glad my mom thought to take a picture, because it captures a nice moment of knowledge sharing. It is a good memory of a time when asking too many questions was met with appreciation and kindness.