Shedd Aquarium

The Beluga, one of the big reasons I wanted to visit, was off exhibit the day I visited. However, the aquarium overall was fun. They have a wide variety of aquatic animals!

The dolphin pool was also amazing! It overlooks the Lake, providing a perfect viewing experience!

As with many zoos and aquariums, the popular areas were crowded, but overall a good experience!

i really loved it:lizards,komodo,sea stars,sea horses,hundreds kinda fish...

This is one of my Number 1 places in the world. And it might very well become yours.

If you are visiting Chicago for a few days, definitely invest in the 'attraction pass' book that Chicago tourism offers. Having this pass helps you circumvent the very long main line up into the Aquarium. If you have not purchased it yet, and cannot get it at your hotel, or forgot, line up for it at the Museum, the line there is much smaller than the line at the aquarium. You will still have a line up, but you will laugh past a much greater line - but you do not get to line up under the lizard (if that matters to you).

Once in the aquarium, look at the big circular tank behind the admissions desk, there is a sea turtle in there who is still rather young but you may notice she swims oddly - her back flippers are paralyzed from a boating accident, a propeller did the damage. You'll notice her wedge herself under corals and such - definitely stop some staff and ask questions if you can, it enriches your experience that much more. Don't be afraid to stop them - it's their job to answer any question you can come up with - so do it.

There is lots to look at, so definitely plan on being there for most of the day. You will definitely want to spend quite a bit of time down with the sharks - it is one of the coolest exhibits you will ever see. You can stand underneath them. Definitely look out for the saw fish (he was my favourite), he does a big loop around the whole tank - hugging the sides the whole time, he's very cool.

Also extremely cool is the dolphin tank. Just the tank in of itself is one of the best parts of the aquarium, and it was when we walked into that part of the aquarium that I figured out what I wanted to do with myself. So I am now a volunteer at the Vancouver Aquarium in BC, Canada, and am looking to have a job there in the next couple of months (I'm close, very close - perhaps if your there in October '07 or afterwards you'll be watching me doing the Beluga show). But that, right there, is what is so cool about the Shedd Aquarium, is the impact it can make on you in one day. As much as I go on about the dolphin tank, the sharks, the seahorses that look like plants, and one of my favourite aquatic animals - velvet shrimp, it will likely be something completely different that wows you. So go out there and find what wows you, because there is plenty there to discover, just make sure you leave yourself enough time!

And definitely spend some time with the penguins.

I was filled with excitement as we headed into the Shedd Aquarium, our general admission tickets in hand.. only $8.00. However, be wary. Our tickets did not allow us to see any of the underwater parts. We were only admitted to see small aquariums. The exciting underwater cafe was off limits as well. Our only glimpse at large creatures was in the Caribbean Reef aquarium. My point is, if you're going to go, splurge for a real ticket. General Admission offers you only the smallest glimpse at the wonders of the seas... Also, the lines to get the tickets take about half an hour to an hour to get through...