Shedd Aquarium (formally the John G. Shedd Aquarium) is a public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is one of the oldest continually operating non-governmental aquariums in the U.S.
Opened on May 30, 1930, the aquarium holds about 32,000 animals. It is the fourth largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere (after L'Oceanogràfic, the Georgia Aquarium and The Seas at Epcot) and the 11th-largest aquarium in the world.
The Shedd Aquarium is a highly ranked world aquarium and at one time was the largest indoor facility in the world. It is the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. The aquarium is located along Lake Michigan in the city's Museum Campus, which also includes other highly ranked institutions such as Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History.
In 2015, the Shedd Aquarium had 2.02 million visitors. It was the most visited aquarium in the Western Hemisphere in 2005, and in 2007, became the most visited cultural institution in Chicago. The aquarium contains 1,500 species, including fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects. The aquarium received awards for "best exhibit" from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for Seahorse Symphony in 1999, Amazon Rising in 2001, and Wild Reef in 2004. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
History
Shedd Aquarium was the gift of retail leader John G. Shedd, a protégé of Marshall Field (benefactor of the adjacent Field Museum), to the city of Chicago. Although Shedd only lived long enough to see the architect's first drawings for the aquarium, his widow, Mary R. Shedd, cut the ribbon at the official opening ceremony.
The aquarium cost $3 million to build (equivalent to $ in ), and initially included 132 exhibit tanks. Groundbreaking took place on November 2, 1927, and construction was completed on December 19, 1929; the first exhibits opened on May 30, 1930. As one of the first inland aquariums in the world, the Shedd had to rely on a custom-made railroad car, the Nautilus, for the transport of fish and seawater. The Nautilus lasted until 1959.
In 1930, 20 railroad tank cars made eight round trips between Key West and Chicago to transport of seawater for the Shedd's saltwater exhibits. In 1933, Chicago hosted its second world's fair, the Century of Progress. The Aquarium was located immediately north of the fairgrounds, and the museum gained exposure to a large international crowd.
In 1971, Shedd Aquarium added one of its most popular exhibits, a exhibit reproducing a Caribbean coral reef. That same year, the aquarium acquired its first crewed research vessel, a 75-foot (23 m) boat for exploring the Caribbean, to conduct field research and collect specimens. In 1985, this boat was replaced with the aquarium's current vessel, the Coral Reef II. In 1987, Shedd Aquarium was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
John Shedd's grandson, John Shedd Reed, who had served as president of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad from 1967 to 1986, was president of the aquarium's board from 1984 until 1994, and was a life trustee until his death in 2008. Ted A. Beattie served as president and CEO of the aquarium from 1994 until his retirement in 2016. Bridget C. Coughlin assumed duties as president and CEO of the company in the Spring of 2016.
Architecture
Shedd Aquarium is notable for its architecture. The basic design, by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, is taken from classical Greek architecture, more specifically Beaux Arts, to match the other structures of the Museum Campus. The central aquarium building is octagonal, fronted by Doric columns and a formal staircase and topped by a dome. Aquatic motifs are worked in at every opportunity; tortoise shells, dolphins, octopuses, waves, and even the Trident of Poseidon can be found all over the aquarium's exterior and interior.
Improving upon its predecessor inland aquarium, the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit, extensive use was made of designs by Mary Chase Perry Stratton, incorporating her custom-made Pewabic Pottery tile. The Oceanarium is done in a more modern style representing the Pacific Northwest, but one that blends with the older part of the building. "Whale Harbor", the Oceanarium's main tank, is backed by a wall of windows that look out onto Lake Michigan.
Exhibits and presentations There are several permanent exhibits at Shedd: Waters of the World, Wonder of Water, Amazon Rising, Wild Reef, and the Abbott Oceanarium.
Waters of the World
The oldest galleries in the aquarium feature exhibits on oceans, rivers, islands and lakes, and Chicago's own local waters. Species on exhibit include American bullfrog, a giant Pacific octopus, American alligator, lake sturgeon, starfish, lined seahorses, and alligator snapping turtle.
Wonder of Water The original Caribbean Reef exhibit was built in 1971, on the site of the aquarium's very first exhibit, the Tropical Pool. A feature of this exhibit is a diver that interacts with the animals while talking with the people. A part of the exhibit is a circular tank that allows for maximum walk-around viewing. It was one of the first habitats to display schooling fish. It is also home to the rescued green sea turtle, Nickel, as well as Atlantic tarpons, cownose rays, redband parrotfish, Bonnethead sharks, a Green moray eel, and many more species. The exhibit is near the center of the first floor. It is adjacent to Amazon Rising, Waters of the World, and Wild Reef. The Caribbean Reef tank was closed in 2023 and will eventually be replaced with the Caribbean Reef tunnel connecting the two main sections of the aquarium building, while two new tanks replaced the original Caribbean Reef tank. Wonder of Water opened in December 2024.
Amazon Rising The Amazon Rising exhibit is an walkthrough flooded forest recreation of the Amazon River and the surrounding jungle. This exhibit contains 250 different species, and its highest water level is . Species from this area on exhibit include a green anaconda, red-bellied piranhas, electric eels, freshwater stingrays, dwarf caimans, caiman lizards, wattled jacanas, yellow-spotted river turtles, red-footed tortoises, yellow-footed tortoises, mata matas, Arapaimas, different species of South American birds, fish, and frogs, and many more.
Wild Reef
In 2003, Shedd opened Wild Reef, a permanent exhibit located two levels below the main building. The exhibit contains a total of and recreates a Philippine coral reef on the Apo Island marine reserve, complete with living coral, multiple species of fish and rays such as the Humphead wrasse, Kuhl's stingray, yellow and blueback fusilier, Queensland grouper, Laced moray, and a collection of several endangered sharks such as the sandbar, zebra, blacktip reef sharks, a white-spotted guitarfish named Lucille who died in May 2024, Spotted wobbegongs, Japanese wobbegongs and the critically endangered Bowmouth guitarfish.
The main draw of this attraction is a shark tank with high curved windows, allowing visitors a diver's-eye view. The Wild Reef exhibit also features a saltwater tank display area where coral is propagated and grown for conservation purposes.
Oceanarium
In 1991, Shedd Aquarium opened the Oceanarium (known since 2010 as the Abbott Oceanarium), a large addition to the aquarium that features marine mammals, including Pacific white-sided dolphins, beluga whales, sea otters and California sea lions, on the right side of the stairway that is next to the sea lions is an open estuary tank for several cuttlefish and by the sea otter exhibit, is a large natural looking touch tank for tide pool creatures like crabs, sea cucumbers and sea anemones. The lower level of the Oceanarium allows underwater viewing of the beluga whales and the dolphins. It holds in total; the largest single tank is the "Whale Harbour".Shedd Aquarium, Exhibits: . Retrieved 8 November 2013
The Oceanarium is the largest indoor marine mammal facility in the world. The Oceanarium also houses a 1,000-seat amphitheater which presents an educational marine mammal show. Several of the sea otters that lived in the aquarium in the past were rescued from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. In the fall of 2008, Shedd's Oceanarium was closed for preventive sealing as well as administrative upgrades. The animals in the exhibit area were temporarily moved to other zoos and aquariums until the exhibit reopened in May 2009.
Polar Play Zone The exhibit is an interactive play area for children and contains an underwater viewing area of the beluga whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins and sea otters. The exhibit also includes Southern rockhopper penguins and magellanic penguins, as well as 5 circular tanks for moon jellyfish and starfishes that are by an interactive submarine model. There is also a starfish touch pool.
Stingray Touch Located on the aquarium's South Terrace, this exhibit allows guests to touch cownose rays as they swim around their outdoor exhibit and is open seasonally from May through October.
Plankton Revealed The Plankton Revealed exhibit opened in July 2023 focuses on the importance of plankton and features flamboyant cuttlefish, white-spotted jellyfish, brine shrimp and other small animals. This interactive exhibit is the aquarium's first to be fully bilingual, featuring Spanish translations.
4D Theater The 4D Theater opened in 2009 as part of the renovation of the Abbott Oceanarium. The 4D experience includes a 3D film with interactive seats, high-tech audio and interactive elements like scents and bubbles. Films shown have included SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and The Polar Express (seasonal).
Previous special exhibits Jellies
The "jellies" exhibit opened in April 2011, focusing on jellyfish, and the misconceptions surrounding them. It featured at least 10 species of jellyfish, including moon jellyfish, egg-yolk jellyfish, purple-striped jelly, Atlantic sea nettle, jelly blubber and upside-down jellyfish. The exhibit closed in 2015.
Underwater Beauty This exhibit opened on May 25, 2018, and focused on the visual beauty of sea life, with sections called "Color", "Patterns", and "Rhythms." The exhibit featured 100 different species of fish and invertebrate, displayed to accent their visual qualities, including the ribbon eel, lagoon jelly, flower hat jelly, peacock mantis shrimp, Weedy seadragon and longnose hawkfish. The exhibit closed on April 17, 2023.
Amphibians The amphibian exhibit opened on May 15, 2015, and ran through January 1, 2018. It featured 40 different species of amphibians, including the gray tree frog, poison dart frog, fire-bellied toad, emperor newt, axolotl, tiger salamander, spring peeper, Japanese giant salamander, cane toad, and the marbled salamander.
Seahorse Symphony
The Seahorse Symphony exhibit opened in 1998 and ran through 2003. It featured trumpetfish, snipefish, shrimpfish, leafy seadragon, banded pipefish, seahorse, and the weedy seadragon.
Crabs! Crabs! opened on May 17, 2005, as part of the Shedd Aquarium's 75th anniversary celebration. Until its closure on January 8, 2006, it was the largest exhibition of crabs in the United States.
Lizards and the Komodo King From 2006 to 2008, this exhibit featured over 25 species of reptiles, including a Komodo dragon, green tree monitors, Gila monsters, caiman lizards, geckos, and a crocodile monitor.
Animals on exhibit, past and present
Australian Lungfish Granddad
Walter Chute, the aquarium's director from 1928 to 1964, wanted rare fish to attract the 10 million tourists expected to visit Chicago for the exposition in 1933. Granddad, an Australian lungfish, arrived at the Shedd in 1933, along with his mate, from Sydney during the Century of Progress world exposition. During the expo's run, they attracted about 4.5 million visitors.