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Aquarium offers discount to college students, scouts
Half off at Aquarium Feb. pic
During the month of February, college students and scouts can enjoy the Tennessee Aquarium and IMAX 3D Theater for half price.

College students, staff and faculty and members of scouting organizations can take advantage of half-price admission to the Tennessee Aquarium and IMAX 3D Theater during the month of February. Discounts apply to Aquarium tickets and 45-minute IMAX film screenings as well as combo ticket purchases.

Scouts must wear their uniform or sash to receive the discount, which applies to everyone in the paying party. To receive the discount, college students must be enrolled at or employed by a physical or online institution and present a valid student ID or online transcript. College faculty and staff can take advantage of the discount by presenting a pay stub.

The discount is available to the entire visiting party and applies to all visits until Feb. 28.

This discount arrives just in time to offer a reprieve from slate gray winter skies and frigid temperatures. The Aquarium’s Ocean Journey and River Journey buildings are full of charismatic, colorful animals sure to help stave off the seasonal doldrums, from leaping lemurs, romping otters and flittering butterflies to cruising alligators and a world-famous tweeting electric eel.

Visitors arriving in February will be able to catch up on many recent additions to the Aquarium, including vividly violet purple-stripe jellyfish and a new display of freshwater pipefish.

Across the street in the IMAX 3D Theater, visitors will have a choice of two exciting giant-screen films. Amazon Adventure 3D follows the real-life exploits of English naturalist Henry Bates, who spent a decade in the world’s largest rainforest conducting research that provided what Charles Darwin called “beautiful proof” for his theory of natural selection. The newest addition to the theater’s slate, Conquest of the Skies, presents a stunning examination of the 300-million-year history of nature’s domination of the heavens, from Paleozoic winged reptiles to darting hummingbirds and graceful Whooper Swans.

College and Scout Day Discount Rates:

Tennessee Aquarium: $15 (adults and college students) / $9.50 (ages 3-12)
IMAX: $6 (adults) / $5 (ages 3-12)
Tennessee Aquarium/IMAX combo ticket: $19 (adults) / $13.50 (ages 3-12)

The mission of the Tennessee Aquarium is to connect people with nature and empower them to make informed decisions about water and wildlife. Admission is $29.95 per adult and $18.95 per child, ages 3-12. Each ticket purchased helps support Aquarium conservation programs.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community