A Visit to Shedd Aquarium Chicago

If I could use two words to describe Shedd Aquarium, they would be, magnificant and mesmerizing. It’s not every day you get to hear balooga whales make sqeaking noises or watch a large sting ray glide by right in front of your face. Mind you, it’s $40 dollars for an adult ticket, but worth every cent. So here is a word of advice, when choosing to drive your car, park in the planetarium parking which is in walking distance of the aquarium. If you get there before 9:30 am, you get the early bird price which is $11 as of the time of this posting. Just be sure it’s not on the day of an event because when we came back to see the plantarium, parking was $49! For obvious reasons, we passed this up and called it a day. These are all the little things they don’t tell you in the tourist websites.

Website: http://www.sheddaquarium.org/ 

Shedd Aquarium opened on May 30, 1930 and for awhile was the largest indoor aquarium containing 5,000,000 US gallons of water! That’s far greater than your average pool. Just to get a little perspective an average depth for an inground pool is 5 feet. A pool that is 12 ft. x 24 ft. holds 10,800 gallons. Big difference, right?! (Photo of Copperband Butterfly Fish).

To me the Clown Fish will always be Nemo. It just instinctively comes out that way. Do I have any nods of agreement? With such a beautiful spectacule of creation, I’m reminded of how great God is and how detailed he is.

The Wild, The Wacky, and The Exotic:

Red-bellied Piranha that live in the Amazon River Basin. They are mainly scavengers and foragers, but they can pose a minor risk. So is what the movies show true? Here’s the truth, during the wet season, there is plenty of food, but caution is advised during the dry season around April to September when the waters are much lower and food is less plentiful. Above all do not swim with these fish with an open wound! Few of us will tred these waters, but hey, you learned something new!

         

Looks like some sci-fi creature. Check out that glare!

Pictures of Exhibits at The Shedd Aquarium

With Lake Michigan being the over view for Shedd Aquarium, it makes sense they would have an exhibit dedicated to it.

The Carribbean Reef exhibit.

The smiling sting ray.

I hope you enjoyed getting a taste of this beautiful aquarium!