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Sunday 26 October – part two: will we finally get into the Shedd Aquarium?

We headed for the Shedd Aquarium and we definitely did the right thing in not going there yesterday. This morning, there was no-one at all in line and we walked straight in. As soon as we showed our Go Chicago card, we were told to take the elevator up the main lobby and then we picked up our tickets from the will call window. The Go Chicago card certainly did help to cut out a lot of lines and lived up to expectations in that respect. We got a locker for our coats, as it was really warm inside and headed into the aquarium.

The first thing we saw was the Caribbean Reef, which was a huge circular tank, full of marine life from that part of the world. It was very easy to see the animals here, but sometimes they really didn’t think about photographing them. Sure, there was no flash photography, which is always good to see, but you don’t want to the sight of illuminated signs glaring into the tanks, which is something what we got here sometimes and that was frustrating.



From there, we headed down a level into Wild Reef, which was celebrating its fifth anniversary. Lesley told me that the last time she’d been here was about 10 years ago, so this section was new to all of us. It takes you through the coral reefs and again, it’s very well laid out. They really made an effort to try and bring things alive here, with huge displays of coral that were life size and areas that explained how fishing can be good or bad for the environment, depending on how it’s done.



Perhaps the most fascinating animals we saw in there were these guys:



These were the best photos we could get of them, as they moved so fast and I can’t remember their name now, but maybe someone can help me out with that? They would pick up small pieces of stone in their mouth and then deposit it elsewhere in the tank. They were very methodical about it and ceaseless in their task. They just didn’t seem to want to stop,

Then it was back up to the main lobby level and the next area we visited was the rainforest themed and gave you some idea of what life is like there. They had signs that showed how high the water levels can get during the rainy season and they were above your head. There were also some scary sights in there, with huge fish and snakes. This wasn’t one for the faint hearted and, although those sort of things don’t usually bother me, I did get a bit creeped out by this snake!



After that, we went into the older section of the aquarium. Lesley told us that these were the areas that she remembered from previous visits and there wasn’t the same level of theming or activities here, although they have staff here who were doing activities for the kids, including a camping area, complete with a toy possum. That was a little bizarre.

The sections were divided up with areas such as local rivers, where we learnt a lot about creatures that are invading these rivers from other parts of the world. In particular, the jumping carp and the fact that they had to put electrical barriers in place to stop them getting into the Great Lakes.


Now I don’t see you...

And now I do!

Sadly, of course the top attraction here, the Oceanarium was down for rehab, the first time in its 30 year history, so the website had told me before we left home. It was odd though. I was expecting to see at least some information about what they were doing and perhaps to even be able to see work progressing on the site, but there was nothing. It was almost as if they were trying to pretend that it didn’t exist and it was very odd. Still, despite the fact that wasn’t open, I still enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would and I guess we’ll have to come back to see it again when the Oceanarium re-opens.

Next: close encounters with Sue and friends