Summer vacationers stampeding zoos and aquariums

Zoos and aquariums are knee deep in visitors this summer, forcing some facilities to accept early reservations and others to close their doors to additional patrons after selling out of tickets.

Several aquariums, including Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Georgia Aquarium, have been so busy lately that they resorted to a system that requires visitors to call a day in advance and book a ticket for a specific time the next day.

"The attendance figures are pretty much through the roof," said Rudy Socha, chief executive of Zoo and Aquarium Visitor. "When Georgia Aquarium first opened they were so swamped that no one could see the exhibits. It took them a while to figure out what the right flow of visitors was."

Zoo and aquarium experts say that an ongoing recession has at least temporarily changed the way Americans vacation, prompting many of them to stay closer to home.