Shedd Aquarium

    This is one of the many attractions that make Chicago such a wonderful city. The Shedd Aquarium is one of the most famous and spectacular aquarium. The aquarium is so famous and spectacular that it gets over 20 million visitors per year! The Aquarium was the most visited aquarium in 2005 and 2007.

    The constuction of the aquarium took place from 1927 to about 1929. The aquarium was a gift from millionare John G. Shedd to the city of Chicago. The aquarium was opened on May 30, 1930. Shedd aquarium used to get all of it's water from railroad cars that came in through the Chicago River and some from Lake Michigan. The aquarium was designed by three of the most creative minds in the early 1900's. Their names were Grahm Anderson, Probat and White. They are the reason why Shedd aquarium is also known for it's greek like design and stone work.

    In 1971 the most popular exhibit was the 90,000 gallon coral reef tank that really made people believe that they were in the ocean looking at the reef. In 1991 Shedd Aquarium added their famous Oceanarium. The arcitecture is in a greek design called Heaux Arts. The museum has more than 1500 species of animals. They include fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians and also insects. The aquarium has exactly 32,667 animals to date.

    The Shedd Aquarium is located on 1200 South Lake Drive. To park on their campus it costs $15 for one whole day. The Shedd Aquarium has an early bird special which is that if you come before 9:30 then the cost for parking is only $10.The cost for only the main aquarium is $8 for adults and $6 for kids ages 3-11 and seniors older than 63.The best deal is the all access pass which is $23 for everyone. The all access pass includes the main aquarium, oceanarium and the wild reef. Kids and seniors are only $16.

Carribean Reef- The Carribean Reef is the center piece of the aquarium. It is a 90,000 gallon circular tank that is filled with stingrays, sharks, eels, a sea turtle and hundreds of tropical fish.

Waters of The World- The water s of the world exhibit has about 900 inhabitants. The exhibit has animals from both rivers and oceans living together in one place. There is even a giant octopus! You have to see this.

Amazon Rising- Everyone knows that the Amazon is the most divese area in all of the world. The Shedd Aquarium is trying to recreate this and they have done a really good job. They have everything from phiranas to anacondas.

Oceanarium- Recreats a peaceful rain forest with huge windows looking over Lake Michigan.

Wild Reef- A huge display of live coral and also has two dozen sharks just swimming around. A fantastic sight to see.The center piece of the exhibit is a 400,000 gallon tank filled with coral and sharks.

Sources

Shedd Aquarium, Chicago traveler.com , July 24th 2005, May 4th 2011, <www.chicagotraveler.com/attractions/shedd-aquarium.html>

Shedd Aquarium, A View On Cities.com , January 2nd 2009, May 5th 2011, <www.aviewoncities.com/chicago/sheddaquarium.htm>