Shedd Aquarium

[GreatWyte]

Went to Chicago a couple months ago. Heres a few pics from Shedd Aquarium. It is very nice and a must see if you are over that way.

[micki]

I've been wanting to go there! 

[HUNGER]

went there about 2 years ago the boluga whale ex was closed witch sucked but it was a vary cool place

[Joel]

I thought that the shedd was pretty cool. Loved that huge cylinder shaped tank - it was awesome!!!!

Good Pics, makes me want go back some weekend.

[UDJustin]

i will be in chicago right before thanksgiving and plan on visiting the aquarium

[UD Flyer]

How does the Shedd compare to the Newport Aquarium? Does it have more saltwater/reef exhibits than Newport?

[GreatWyte]

I'm embarassed to admit it but i've never been to newport. I've been to aquariums around the country but not the one in my own backyard (comparitivly speaking). I've heard a number of stories of people being disappointed with Newport, so I've always put it off. I will make a trip there in the near future tho to form my own opinion.
As for Shedd's I would say prolly 2/3's of thier exhibits are saltwater. A good portion are geared toward saltwater fish with the corals and backgrounds being fake. But there is an entire exhibit (Wild Reef), or wing, where most all the corals are live. They have a some tanks set up after the Wild Reef exhibit where they are propagating corals, which was pretty cool.
You would find Shedds on every 10 top aquariums in america list, cracking the top five on most.

UDJustin heres a tip if you plan on visiting soon.
They have shows thruout the day featuring beluga whales, dolphins, ect. Get a schedual of the shows when you get there. That way  you can plan to check out the ones you have interest in as they only have 1 or 2 of each show a day. Arrive at the amphitheater 10 mins or so early so you can get in and get a seat.

[jd]

I went to Newport a few months ago and I was very disappointed. Their "reef" has little more than some xenia and button polyps in it. The shark tunnel was cool but I was hoping for a much better reef display....

[UDJustin]

I'm embarassed to admit it but i've never been to newport. I've been to aquariums around the country but not the one in my own backyard (comparitivly speaking). I've heard a number of stories of people being disappointed with Newport, so I've always put it off. I will make a trip there in the near future tho to form my own opinion.
As for Shedd's I would say prolly 2/3's of thier exhibits are saltwater. A good portion are geared toward saltwater fish with the corals and backgrounds being fake. But there is an entire exhibit (Wild Reef), or wing, where most all the corals are live. They have a some tanks set up after the Wild Reef exhibit where they are propagating corals, which was pretty cool.
You would find Shedds on every 10 top aquariums in america list, cracking the top five on most.

UDJustin heres a tip if you plan on visiting soon.
They have shows thruout the day featuring beluga whales, dolphins, ect. Get a schedual of the shows when you get there. That way  you can plan to check out the ones you have interest in as they only have 1 or 2 of each show a day. Arrive at the amphitheater 10 mins or so early so you can get in and get a seat.

THanks for the advice

[Bstare01]

I visited when I was in Highscool. Definitly need to go again. Might apreciate it more now.

[atreis]

I've gone three times over the years.  The first time was shortly after Newport opened, and the reef tank was a very nice site to see.  Well maintained, well stocked, and reasonably healthy-seeming.  The second time I noticed it had declined considerably and shockingly, but the backstage tour my wife got me for Christmas made up for it.  I was also the only one on the tour, so could ask all the questions I wanted and focus on the the things I was most interested in - I avoided asking or commenting about the reef tank largely because I didn't want to inadvertently offend the lady giving the tour.

The third time was a couple years ago, and it appeared to me at the time that the reef tank's decline was continuing....  It was depressing so I spent almost no time looking at it.

I noticed the same thing with the jelly tanks too, except that by the third visit most were completely empty.

I still enjoyed some of the other tanks and the big tunnels through the shark tank though (which also has a nice population of reef fish), and the kids enjoy it a lot.