Shedd Aquarium | Thoughts, Tales, and Whatnot

The John G. Shedd Aquarium opened in 1930 and was the first inland aquarium in the world with permanent saltwater fish collection. For a time too, it was the largest indoor aquarium in the world.

The queue to the aquarium’s entrance was long. Thankfully, I had a CityPass so I did not have to line up.

After exchanging my Shedd Aquarium pass for tickets, I took my time discovering the wonders of this famous Chicago attraction.

Rivers, Islands, and Lakes
In this section, I was introduced to different species of freshwater fishes from around the world.

But my most interesting finds here would be the following: the pig-nosed turtle, which is a turtle specie native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea.

Piranha, which we are familiar with, of course, because of the many movies about them.

Isn’t it interesting how they look innocent in these photos when in movies, they are portrayed as aggressive, insatiable predators?

And finally, the Bahamas Andros Iguana, turtles and a lone shrimp.

These colorful frogs were also visually arresting.

While I was able to identify the black and yellow one as a Bumblebee Dart Poison Frog, Google was not specific about the orange ones.

Jellies

I had been to Manila Ocean Park and Hong Kong Ocean Park’s jelly exhibits, but I was still in awe when I saw Shedd’s mainly because their jelly selection is more varied.

Aquatic Show

I took the 3:30 PM schedule for this show. Seating was available 30 minutes prior, but because I arrived late, I was not able to get good seats. Still, I enjoyed the show, which featured beluga whales.

A trivia: Beluga whales are usually born gray. At one month, they gradually lose their pigmentation until they reach their white color at the age of 7 in females and 9 in males.

Aside from the whale show, a penguin was also introduced (sorry, I only had one clear photo since I was seated two far from the front) and a dog, which they rescued when they knew it was neglected and abused.

Lastly, there was this dolphin show.

Wild Reef
I was proud to see this exhibit, which is of the Philippines.

I did some diving and snorkeling in many of my country’s waters, and know of our rich coral reefs, and it was heartwarming to see these shown in a different country.

It’s amazing how the Chicago office of the Philippines’ Department of Tourism was able to create our traditional bahay kubo (wooden houses) and the usual beachfront scenes in many of our islands.

Amazon Rising
This is a forest recreation of the Amazon River and the surrounding jungle and features fishes, stingrays, turtles, and whatnot.

Some interesting creatures include the Giant Peruvian Cockroach, the Emerald Tree Boa, the Dyeing Poison Dart Frog, and a monkey specie that I was not able to identify.

Of the above, the monkey was the most difficult to photograph because it kept hopping from one branch to another, but my patience at standing still in front of it was rewarded with this shot.

More memories of Shedd
I also watched Ice Age in its 4D Theatre (sorry, I have no photo of what I saw because taking photos was not allowed), interacted with stingrays at Stingray Touch, viewed penguins and sea lions up close and saw Shedd’s Coral Lab.

More interesting water creatures
Aside from these colorful fishes at Shedd Aquarium,

I also saw an Orange Sea Pen, Garden Eels, seahorses, and colorful starfishes.

There were other interesting creatures too that unfortunately, I cannot identify (and too lazy to Google, te he!)

For more information about Shedd Aquarium, visit www.sheddaquarium.org.

Pardon my looong hiatus from this blog. I was again swamped with work (yeah, I know, it’s always my work). But then, it is also sometimes because of my work that I get to travel.

This month, I was sent to Chicago to attend an event. Though I was there mostly for work, I extended my stay to accommodate discovering Chicago at my own pace and for leisure.

Here are bits and pieces of what I discovered about and experienced in this interesting city.

I watched an amazing show featuring beluga whales, became fascinated with a “cloud” that looked more like a bean, got drizzled by spews of water from a gargantuan fountain, spent some “me” time just looking out the lake, captured night shots from the pier and met a T. rex named Sue.

I also went to Willis Tower (formerly Sears), which is the second tallest building in the USA and the eight tallest freestanding structure in the world. In 2009, it opened its Skydeck with all-glass boxes that allow visitors to look through the floor on the street 1,353 feet, 412 meters and 103 floors below. Whew!

I also enjoyed watching the pastel sky turn into a riotous shade of yellow-orange at the Navy Pier.

And here’s a collage of the Chicago River, the Water Tower (I was told this was the only surviving structure during the great Chicago fire of 1871, but Wikipedia disagreed), and a view of the city’s skyline as viewed from the penthouse of Lake Point Tower, which is the only skyscraper in downtown Chicago east of Lake Shore Drive.

Lastly, here is a photo of what I saw at the Adler Planetarium and of Chicago’s skyline as seen from the John Hancock Observatory. And though I was there during the summer, I did experience Chicago’s punishing cold when I ventured out early in the morning to visit the museums. Even with my jacket on, I felt chilled and couldn’t stop my teeth from chattering. And oh, I went to the Chinatown too (there is always a Chinatown somewhere!) and just can’t resist sharing what my fortune cookie foretells.

You will spend your old age in comfort and material wealth.

Now, that’s something to look forward to. Te he.

More detailed posts later. For now, I have to catch up on some work that piled up while I was away (I just dropped a note since I felt like I needed a break.)

Till next!