Shedd Aquarium Chicago, IL

[tribalturtle2]

Should be going there soon, an ex gf's Dad helped design and build the beluga and pacific dolphin's exhibit.

The shark tank in the basement is pretty neat too! I'd like to figure out how to get a behind the scenes tour. I heard from my old Ichthyology professor at SIU in Carbondale IL that they have some 14-15ft arapaimas in there.

 

[TruRacr314x]

I just went there for the first time a couple months ago. It was a blast and blew our Cincinnati Aquarium outta the water. Awesome place...

 

[Ddavis]

I agree the reef display down stairs is very nice.

 

[fishroomlady]

I just went there for the first time a couple months ago. It was a blast and blew our Cincinnati Aquarium outta the water. Awesome place...

I went to the Shedd last year and really had the opposite feeling. Interesting how people's opinions can be so different. I had a new appreciation for the Newport aquarium after seeing the Shedd. It was nice, don't get me wrong - but the reef display was very little of the whole aquarium.

 

[tribalturtle2]

Where's the newport aquarium?

 

[Ddavis]

My perspective is a bit different because I have visited quite a few public aquariums and often the reef display is extremely small. I have been to Hawaii, the Steinhart in San Fran, The London aquarium, Sea World in Florida and San Diego and although I appreciate all of them I thought that the Shedd did a nice job with quite a few saltwater displays that include predators in a large curved display. Multiple soft and stony corals and one tank with a massive Giganta clam. Seahorses and sea dragons are upstairs. I know this is all a matter of perspective and I know I always want more.

On another note the behind the scenes tour is nice as are the other specialty tours they offer. As someone who has had up to 1000 gallons in my home aquariums I really liked their lab setup for water testing.

 

[footballdude2k3]

Be sure to go see Granddad while you're there!

 

[Funlad3]

As a student, I've managed to get into the secure area of both the Shedd and the Georgia Aquarium. What they have behind the scenes of the Shedd, and not just on the behind the scenes tour, belongs in a museum itself. Most of the tanks and systems are still running the original equipment and plumbing, and the design is so amazingly complex and intricate, it amazes me that the workers know how anything works. There's a sub-basement that's a birdsnest of PVC, running every which way, only accessible by three or four levels of different catwalks.

As for the displays, the Shedd has no room to expand, so it does have a bit of a cluttered aesthetic. The stuff that they have, though, is simply incredible.