We Speak Attractions & Activities

Atlanta’s River Scout Reopens With a Canopy Walk, Double-Size Otter Home and a Brand-New Species

Published

2 months ago

August 30, 2026

One of Georgia Aquarium’s most familiar galleries has a new look — and a new animal. The Southern Company River Scout gallery has officially reopened following a major transformation designed to make the space more immersive for both animals and visitors. River Scout is the aquarium’s only freshwater gallery, showcasing wildlife from rivers and wetlands around the world.

The headline addition is a brand-new Canopy Walk, arriving alongside updated theming, signage and lighting throughout the gallery. The aquarium’s Asian small-clawed otters are among the biggest winners: their habitat has been doubled in size, and the otters now have two overhead trails to roam — giving visitors new vantage points on the animals from below.

The revamped gallery also welcomes a species new to Georgia Aquarium: binturongs, a distinctive mammal native to Southeast Asia known for its long, prehensile tail and shaggy black coat. They join freshwater animals from ecosystems across Africa, South America, Asia and Georgia — a lineup that includes piranhas, alligator snapping turtles and archerfish — amid waterfalls, logjams and a simulated North American river flowing overhead, plus a river cleanup game that tests guests’ conservation skills.

A FOX 5 Atlanta preview earlier in the season framed the Canopy Walk and Treehouse playscape as part of the second phase of the River Scout renovations, alongside the expanded otter habitat and the new signage and lighting, with aquarium staff saying the work was meant to “elevate” both the guest experience and animal care.

The gallery sits inside one of Atlanta’s signature attractions: Georgia Aquarium is described as the largest aquarium in the United States, with more than 11 million gallons of water and more than 500 species, at 225 Baker St NW in downtown Atlanta. After this transformation, its quietest corner — the rivers gallery — is suddenly one of its freshest draws.

We Speak Attractions & Activities

The Call Me Mother Experience Brings Immersive Art and Maternal Health Stories to Houston’s Health Museum

Published

4 days ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

Artwork from The Call Me Mother Experience at The Health Museum in Houston

The Call Me Mother Experience, an immersive multi-site art exhibit dedicated to the stories of the Black maternal health crisis, is now open at The Health Museum, 1515 Hermann Drive in Houston. The exhibition runs through February 28, 2027, and tickets range from $12 to $15.

Visitors should prepare for an immersive experience that includes poetry, film, performance, 3D sculptures, and original paintings created by a collective of nationally and internationally recognized artists, including D.E.E.P., Omari Maynard, Stacey Allen, Keda Sharber, and many others.

The exhibit walks visitors toward an opening question and into a reimagined waiting room, showing perspectives that range from father to mother and from despair to healing. Each site displays familial love and the grief that comes with the Black maternal health crisis in America, ending in a call to action.

“After two years working in the community to amplify local stories, I hope people see this exhibit as a celebration of our collective voices in the fight for maternal equity,” says D.E.E.P. “Every artist in the collective has had their own personal experience, be it infant death, fibroids, or birth complications. We have lived through these losses. We are using our art to demand better maternal healthcare practices in our lifetime.”

The stakes behind the exhibit are stark. As of 2024, Black women are three times more likely to die a pregnancy-related death than white women, and more than 80% of these deaths are preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Call Me Mother Experience is a Deep Ink project, fiscally sponsored by Fresh Arts, a Houston-based 501(c)(3) arts service organization, with generous support from H-E-B and several other philanthropic organizations. Additional satellite activations are planned at community sites and faith-based organizations throughout the Greater Houston area.

Learn more at callmemotherexperience.com.

Follow The Call Me Mother Experience on Instagram: @callmemotherexperience