Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, anyone been?

[midnight growler]

I'm going to Chicago for a concert next week (Rammstein). The concert is Tuesday night and I don't leave until Wednesday afternoon which leaves me with the early half of a day to do something in downtown Chicago. I'm thinking of going to Shedd Aquarium and am wondering what ATOT has to say about it or if there are any other cool places to check out.

I see that admission is a bit steep, but that doesn't bother me. Is the jellyfish exhibit worth seeing? How much time do you think I should plan on being there?

 

[FallenHero]

It's been awhile for me, but I always loved the Museum of Science and Industry better.

 

[zinfamous]

It is awesome. no other aquarium has belugas, as far as I know.

one of the great aquariums of the world, worth every penny.

Art Institute is a must see, as well.


lol/ Rammstein. wtf.

anyway, Museum of Science and Industry is on the far south (well, there is a further south) side of Chicago. not exactly doable for you. It's a fun museum, oriented towards kids, mostly.

 

[Born2bwire]

It is awesome. no other aquarium has belugas, as far as I know.

one of the great aquariums of the world, worth every penny.

Art Institute is a must see, as well.


lol/ Rammstein. wtf.

anyway, Museum of Science and Industry is on the far south (well, there is a further south) side of Chicago. not exactly doable for you. It's a fun museum, oriented towards kids, mostly.

Yeah, but the Museum of Science and Industry has a U-boat! :awe:

Actually, I haven't been there since I was a kid, but it was always awesome as a kid.

 

[IronWing]

The Shedd is great. The alligator snapper even moves around every few days.

The computer exhibit at the S&I museum is kind of neat. When it first opened it was gee whiz tech but it is so old that now it is retro-I-remember-those-cool.

 

[PowerEngineer]

We went to the Shedd Aquarium a few years back, and the kids had a great time. The belugas were great, and there's a SeaWorld-ish dolphin/beluga show that is worth watching.

The Field Museum and Alder Planetarium are also within walking distance.

http://fieldmuseum.org/

http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/

Have fun!

 

[davmat787]

It is awesome. no other aquarium has belugas, as far as I know.

one of the great aquariums of the world, worth every penny.

Art Institute is a must see, as well.


lol/ Rammstein. wtf.

anyway, Museum of Science and Industry is on the far south (well, there is a further south) side of Chicago. not exactly doable for you. It's a fun museum, oriented towards kids, mostly.

The Stanley Park aquarium in Vancouver BC has Belugas. They had some huge alligator gar too if I remember correctly.

 

[RPD]

Wife and I spent like 3-4hrs there, loved it. I digged the river/amazon section stuff.

 

[dmcowen674]

Du Hast

 

[zinfamous]

Yeah, but the Museum of Science and Industry has a U-boat! :awe:

Actually, I haven't been there since I was a kid, but it was always awesome as a kid.

yeah, it's still a really good museum, for all ages, really. big "kids" love the gigantic train room, too.

 

[midnight growler]

The Museum of Science and Industry sounds cool, but I'm kinda leaning towards the aquarium just because I've never been to one before. Also I'm limited to mass transit. I'm coming in from the Blue Line and megabus leaves from Union Station.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[SphinxnihpS]

It is awesome. no other aquarium has belugas, as far as I know.

one of the great aquariums of the world, worth every penny.

Art Institute is a must see, as well.


lol/ Rammstein. wtf.

anyway, Museum of Science and Industry is on the far south (well, there is a further south) side of Chicago. not exactly doable for you. It's a fun museum, oriented towards kids, mostly.

I have been to them all multiple times. I would skip a free pass to all of them and gladly pay $50 to walk through the Art Institute. It's far and away the best of all of the major art museums I have been to, including both of the big ones in DC. It is entirely free if you do not wish to donate.

 

[arrfep]

Something made me lol at you combining Rammstein and museums in one trip.

Anyway, yeah, the Shedd is fantastic. I've been meaning to get down there and check out the current Jellyfish exhibit. A Wednesday should be a good day to go. I see you've researched ticket prices, so I won't mention that here.

You could do the whole thing in two or three hours, for sure, the only time-related thing to consider would be making sure you're there when there's an Oceanarium show scheduled (dolphins and belugas doing tricks). There are a couple a day but on busy days you have to get in a half-hour early if you want to get a seat.

I wouldn't worry about transport...The walk from the Aquarium to Union Station is nice, and will take you past some of Chicago's best landmarks.

 

[Aquaman]

How was the trip?

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[nick1985]

I've been. Worth your time. :thumbsup:

 

[SlowSpyder]

I went there on a weekend. I'll never do that again. So many people you really coudn't see anything, hell, I could barely move. But it would be worth it on a weekday probably.

 

[GT1999]

The Shedd is definitely a must see at least once.

 

[Via]

My family went every year when I was a kid.

We saw:

Shedd
The planetarium
The 2 big museums
The Nutcraker at McCormick

They're all great (or were, at least).

 

[BurnItDwn]

I've been to the Shedd several times, though none in recent years. I've always been very impressed by it. Very much worth seeing.

 

[ViviTheMage]

It was cool when I went last year ... my sister and her husband got in free, since she's in the army...I had to pay full price, haha.

 

[waggy]

I love the shedd. its a lot of fun.

I am takeing my kids this summer. though i hate driving into chicago

 

[nublikescake]

Great place. Not as "fun" as other water/marine educational theme parks/centres but an exquisite aquarium nonetheless. I liked Field museum more because I am a bit of a fan of the ancient history stuff.

 

[manimal]

Take a little extra time and walk the pier next to the shedd.

 

[Vic Vega]

Been many times. It's worth it. All of the Chicago museums/exhibits are top notch.

 

[JohnnyGage]

Yeah way worth it. You can do the Field Museum as well, all are walking distance and easily accessible via mass transit. The Art Institute is MUST if you can.