I had the chance to take a quick trip with my entire family to Chicago. We hung out at Shedd Aquarium for part of a day. My kids are tall and can read, so it takes more time to visit attractions like Shedd than when they were short and/or unable to read. We got to watch this octopus transform from a still blob into a locomotive creature! Fascinating. I watched him for a long time.
I had really hoped it would play with the toys while we were there — see the colorful plastic toys to the right of the photo? I guess the octopus wasn’t in the mood to play though. Or maybe it found the toys after we moved across the room to watch a deep sea diver (we spotted three total in the building). She was feeding the animals and had a microphone and headset, allowing her to converse with everyone outside of the tank.
We noticed that the building is over the top with its underwater theme — light fixtures, doorways, capitals, etc. If you read the Aquarium’s history webpage, you’ll see the mantra “Make no little plans.” Let me tell you, the mantra was taken to heart in almost every aspect of this facility.
I was really happy to touch sea stars and a sea urchin! I’ll have to post that photo when I find it. My son has it on his memory card still.
If we were to change anything, it would have been the ticketing process. Get the prepaid pass. You can present a smartphone or hardcopy email at the gate. There is a special line for prepay. Have you ever visited the Shedd? Tell me in the comments.