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| Shedd Aquarium tips and photos posted by real travelers and Chicago locals. • 83 Photos
• 59 Reviews
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 | Chicago Shedd Aquarium Reviews | 1 - 10 of 59 |  |
In my opinion the best part of the Aquarium is the Oceanarium. In the marine mammal pavilion you will see beluga whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins, Alaskan sea otters and seals in a re-creation of a Pacific Northwest coastal environment. The place is really great. I especially liked the Animal Underwater Viewing area. It gave me a different perspective to see the marine mammals.
There is a dolphin and whales show. You will see them diveing and tail bobbing The show takes place in the amphitheater during the Marine Mammal Presentations. I checked when the show starts in the programme given to me at the entrance.
Besides the Oceanarium, in the other areas there were variety of tropical Caribbean animals including sharks, eel, sea turtles and colorful fish.
Duration:
Took me about 3 hours.
Price:
As far as I remember I paid about USD 19.
Working hours:
Sumertime
Memorial Day - Labor Day
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Thursdays, June - August
9 a.m. - 10 p.m.
(Oceanarium closes at 8 p.m.)
Wintertime
Labor Day - Memorial Day
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. winter weekdays
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. winter weekends
Closed Christmas day Leave a Comment Address: 1200, South Lake Shore DriveDirections: Located in the Museum Campus at Lake Michigan between Grant Park and Soldier Field.Website: http://www.sheddaquarium.org/
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Over 6 different trips to the U.S. I/we have visited 5 different aquariums and this is my second favourite after the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
BUT....., it does have something that my No 1 aquarium doesn't have. Check the piccie beside this tip & yes folks you've hit it in one! The one & only, incomparable BELUGA whale. Just magical animals they are, the only cetaceans that can move their heads because of their necks. Now don't ask me to explain it technically because I'm a mere generalist educator not a specialist in ocean marine mammal life (would like to be mind you!). I swear that the beluga there was talking to me & I was trying to impress the attractive American lady beside me by talking back to it (and my wife wasn't too far away! LOL!). Seriously, I would go to the Shedd again knowing there's a Beluga there, but it is worthwhile visiting in it's own right.
Set in a beautiful building of it's own (see my Chicago travelogue for a photo of the front view), reminding me a little of our Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney(see my 2nd Sydney must see tip), it seems very modern inside.
It boasts of being the largest indoor aquarium in the world, but is still easily navigable even by the directionally/visuall spatially challenged such as myself.
With something like 8 000 animal exhibits & extremely interesting exhibits of different aquatic habitats & their denizens it is a definite MUST SEE if you are planning a visit to Chicago.
Lastly, check out their website. I've only had a perfuctory squizz at a bit of it & it looks real good! Leave a Comment Address: Check the website below for maps & directionsDirections: Easy to find. We found it by just walking towards Lake Michigan from the Sears Tower.Website: http://www.sheddnet.org
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Last visit-8/27/06. The Oceanarium is closed for renovation, will reopen on May 22, 2009
The Shedd Aquarium comes up on the must see list of every guidebook with good reason. It is the world's largest indoor aquarium and if you are into fish, you can spend hours here.
There are 3 parts to the aquarium:
Main aquarium, the highlight is the Caribbean Reef, a 90,000 gallon round tank when you first walk in. Catch one of the daily feedings, look for the enormous green eel and the green sea turtle. In another section, be sure to see Granddad, an Australian lungfish that has been there since 1933 when he was used to lure visitors to the World's Fair.
The Oceanarium, added in 1991, is supposed to resemble the Pacific Northwest. There's a dolphin show several times a day, more promoting conservation than a Sea World type show. The wall of windows in the Oceanarium creates the stunning optical illusion of connecting with Lake Michigan in the background. There are also several beluga whales that seem to enjoy posing for pictures, playful sea otters (some rescued from the Exxon Valdez oil spill), seals and penguins. Closed until May 22, 2009.
The Wild Reef, added in 2003, features sharks and a coral reef. It's most famous resident, Bubba, a 140 lb. Queensland grouper that had successful cancer treatments died in 2006 :-(
If you have a short amount of time, you used to be able to visit the main part of the Shedd for $6-8, I don't see that info anymore but it can't hurt to ask.
DISCOUNT DAYS-there are 52 days a year that offer free general admission, check the website under FAQ, the main part is FREE, extra if you want to see the Wild Reef or Oceanarium.
Best time to go-when it first opens or on a weekday
For more pictures and some interesting stories of some of it's residents, see my Travelogue
Fun Fact-when the aquarium opened in 1930, the saltwater was sent from Key West to Chicago by rail, the final shipment of salt water was received in 1970! Now the Shedd mixes it's own. Leave a Comment
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Visit the largest indoor aquarium in the world! The Shedd aquarium features a wild variety of marine plants and animals and currently has a new exhibit on wild sharks and coral reef from the Philippines. Tickets are for $21. with discounts for seniors and children. The Shedd is one of the three museums in the Museum campus. The other three are the Adler Planetarium and the Field museum. Check the website or call for hours. Leave a Comment
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Next to Field Museum,another interest option,can see visit one of largest Aquariums in world. Sometimes you have to wait in a long line to get the tickets as you can see on my picture.
Also next to the Aquarium,you can get a taxi-boat at Michigan Lake to go to Navy Pier. Leave a Comment
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You'll get eye-to-eye with the largest collection of sharks in the North America when you visit the Shedd's new Wild Reef, a cutting-edge exhibit eight years in the making that immerses you in an Indo-Pacific ecosystem.
Features of Wild Reef:
- 1 million coral polyps
- More than 2,000 fish
- 540 species, doubling the number of total species at the Shedd
- 17.5 tons of Philippine sand
- 750,000 gallons of water
- 85 "faux" corals
- 10,000 watts of light trained on the tank holding real coral Leave a Comment
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You could spend hours in here and still not see everything. This place is amazing and so big inside. When you enter you will be given a guide of what to see. This time round the place was packed for the holiday season (December) and the q's were very long. Leave a Comment
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Chicago's Shedd Aquarium has a magnificent display of aquatic animals. It's divided up into different displays featuing different sets of underwater creatures.
Located southeast of downtown Chicago, it's south of the Field Museum and right near the Adler Planetarium. Leave a Comment Address: 1200 South Lake Shore DrivePhone: 312.939.2435Directions: From Lakeshore Drive turn onto McFetridge Drive, between Soldier Field and the Field Museum. Follow this around to Solidarity Drive. Shedd is to your right.Website: http://www.sheddnet.org Other Contact: contactus@sheddaquarium.org
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When I was a kid living in East Tennessee, in 1960, my dad took me and two of my brothers to Chicago and the the favorite thing we saw was Shedd Aquarium. We were all awestruck - talked about it for years. Last summer my wife and I went back to Shedd - and we were awestruck again. There's a reason they call it "The World's Aquarium."
We've been to other newer aquariums which had acryllic walk-through underwater tunnels that Shedd can't match. But the one thing Shedd has that the others don't is the Oceanarium, and that's been added since I was young. This 3 million gallon marine mammal pavilion is the world's largest. To us it was definitely the highlight of our visit. The beluga whales, white-sided dolphins and other amazing creatures had us open mouthed and gasping with delight.
We were there on a summer weekend when the line was VERY long. We went back again on a Sunday in early autumn, and there was hardly any line at all. Leave a Comment Address: 1200 South Lakeshore Dr.Phone: 312-692-3355Directions: From Lakeshore Dr. turn into McFetridge Dr., between Soldier Field and the Field Museum. Follow this around to Solidatary Dr. The aquarium will be on your right.Website: http://www.sheddnet.org
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Went there on the busiest day of a week - Saturday at 10am. Bought our tickets at the reception desk, no problem, even though it is recommended to buy them online in advance.
The place was not too crowded for the first hour but we did have to go 15 minutes before the Dolphins presentation started to make sure we have good seats. The show was pretty boring (few jumps and mostly dolphins feeding) but I guess I should not expected much from 20 minutes marine life presentation.
In general I`d give it 3 stars out of 5.
PRICE:
- 4D All-Access Pass is $27.50 for adults, $20.50 for kids/seniors (includes the Oceanarium, Wild Reef, Lizards and the Komodo King, Amazon Rising, the Caribbean Reef, Waters of the World and the new 4-D Special FX Theater, featuring SpongeBob SquarePants.);
- All-Access Pass is $23 for adults, $16 for kids/seniors (includes all of the above with the exception of 4-D Special Thater);
- Become a member and go for free. Individual memebership is $70;
- Just Aquarium is $8 for adults, $6 for kids/seniors;
- Wild Reef Mini Pass is $18 for adults, $14 for kids/seniors (includes entrance to Wild Reef, Waters of the World, Amazon Rising and the Caribbean Reef).
NOTE: Residents of the city of Chicago receive a 25% discount on admission every day. Must present vaild ID. Address: 1200 South Lake Shore DrivePhone: 312-939-2438Directions: On Chicago’s Museum Campus. DIRECTIONS: http://www.sheddaquarium.org/getting_to_shedd.htmlWebsite: http://www.sheddnet.org Other Contact: e-maill: contactus@sheddaquarium
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