From its purple mountain majesties and fruited plains to its music-hearted seas, the beauty of the American landscape is the rightful inheritance and natural heritage of all its citizens.
As part of the yearlong America250 commemoration, the Tennessee Aquarium is hosting a special screening on Thursday, Nov. 12, of America the Beautiful: Our Natural Wonders. This new giant-screen film narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor and director Kelsey Grammer celebrates the diverse beauty of America’s wildlife and wild spaces as well as the heroic efforts of the conservationists who preserved them for future generations.
The protection of America’s natural heritage began with one of the nation’s earliest and most successful environmental champions: President Theodore Roosevelt, says Simon Roosevelt, the late president’s great-great grandson.
“Our country was founded 250 years ago. By the time my great-great grandfather was born 100 years later, our seemingly endless wild resources were already moving toward a turning point where species would begin to disappear and large-scale deforestation would spread westward with settlement,” Simon Roosevelt says during the film’s opening moments.
“[Roosevelt] and the leaders he collected around him created a conservation system that changed the course of the country and would become a model for the world.”
Spanning thousands of miles and incredibly varied geography, America is a patchwork quilt of geographic grandeur. Despite a runtime of just 40 minutes, America the Beautiful traverses an impressive sampling of this astonishing landscape, from the towering geysers of Yellowstone National Park and the salmon-filled streams of the Pacific Northwest to the vast marshes of the Florida Everglades and the dramatic immensity of the Grand Canyon.
Along the way, viewers encounter a huge variety of wildlife, including Grizzly Bears, Foxes, Beavers and Moose as well as enormous flocks of waterfowl. Some of these featured animals, such as the American Alligator, Bald Eagle and American Bison, are conservation success stories of their own, having benefited from the same efforts that protected the places they call home.
The 6:30 p.m. screening of America the Beautiful on Nov. 12 will be followed by a presentation by the Aquarium’s director of conservation, Stephanie Chance. She will discuss how Aquarium scientists are protecting and restoring species throughout the Southeast, one of the most biologically rich regions, not only in the United States but across the entire planet.
“Conservation is core to who we are at the Tennessee Aquarium,” Chance says. “We want to make sure that we’re highlighting the amazing biodiversity of aquatic life that occurs here in the Southeast, and we want to care for that, whether it be at the Aquarium or in the wild.”
“On Thursday, I’ll talk about who our team members are, what they do, where they work, and the species and ecosystems they are working to protect. We’ll also highlight how everyone can get involved in that work.”
The Nov. 12 event will conclude with a special 7:30 p.m. presentation of the 15-minute short film Fish Country: Follow the Water. Made by local filmmaker Luke Padgett, Fish Country zooms in on Chattanooga’s own backyard to capture the behavior of local aquatic life with the same care and skill normally associated with places more traditionally viewed as “wild.”
“What I wanted to show was that nature isn’t somewhere else out in the Amazon or the Serengeti,” Padgett says. “It’s right here with us, and it is our home.”
“Tennessee is legitimately one of those destination-worthy wildlife places, especially underwater. Once I started snorkeling the rivers and realized this whole new world was here right alongside very familiar woods and cliffs, it was impossible not to want to bring a camera.”
Admission to the Nov. 12 conservation celebration event is free for Aquarium Deluxe Members or $9.95 for general admission (all ages). Children under 3 are free.
America the Beautiful will be screened daily Nov. 11-25. For more information about the film or to purchase advance tickets, visit tnaqua.org/america-the-beautiful.
Pop Quote
“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.” — President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt
The mission of the Tennessee Aquarium is to open the door to freshwater life and move people to protect it. Admission is $39.95 per adult and $29.95 for youths ages 4-17. Each ticket purchased helps support Aquarium conservation programs. The IMAX® 3D Theater is next door to the Aquarium. Ticket prices for 45-minute films are $9.95. Advance tickets may be purchased online at www.tnaqua.org or by phone at 1-800-262-0695. The Aquarium, located on the banks of the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, is a non-profit organization. Open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Aquarium and IMAX are accessible to people with disabilities.
