Gatlinburg TN - Mars is Where?

Gatlinburg TN is known for many fun attractions and among those would be the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. In February of 2007 Ripley’s Aquarium announced the opening of its latest interactive, exhibit, Mars: The Search for Life. There is well over 34 million miles separating the Earth from the Red Planet but this exhibit brings the Mars experience a little closer to Earth. Some people may not understand why the popular aquarium chooses to host a Mars exhibit but the general manger explains it very well. As he said, “Outer space and the deep blue sea really represent the last of mankind’s unconquered frontiers. Although the methods by which we reach these uncharted territories vary greatly, the technologies used to explore these regions are similar. The Mars exhibit is a very educational exhibit and it features a large-scale Mars model and tons of fun facts about the red planet. The Mars exhibit lets visitors crawl through a rock tunnel to find underground ice. Inside this tunnel you can touch frozen water that is mixed in with replicas of Martian soil. There is a Rover Interactive station that gives you an opportunity to explore Mars using remote controlled, mini Mars Rover vehicles. Video camera and monitors are attached and simulate the challenge of controlling these vehicles from Earth. Other attractions from the Mars exhibit include a scale that will compare your weight on Earth and your weight on Mars, a demonstration that shows you how much stronger you would be on Mars and a time machine that will give you a chance to find out what your age is on Mars. Mars can be quite fun, at first glance, you weigh less, your age is less and you get more minutes in a day but on the other hand the temperature averages out to -81 degrees Fahrenheit and the atmosphere contains over 95 percent carbon dioxide. Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is proud of this new educational exhibit.