John G. Shedd Aquarium

The John G. Shedd Aquarium is the largest indoor aquarium in the world with over 8,000 animals and creatures to explore. But this isn’t your ordinary aquarium—a posh outing can be made of this underwater adventure complete with gourmet dinner and valet parking for picky nature voyeurs.

The Shedd is not just a sparkly educational aquarium (even though that’s cool enough) of late, it is so much more, super new and glittering with everything from a giant man-made Caribbean reef, shark tank and Amazonian counter (read: piranhas up close) even your boyfriend can get into this predator prolific date idea. A dolphin show overlooking Chicago’s skyline and a 4-D Special FX Theater, gourmet dinner spot and more await you at the Shedd.

The Caribbean Reef, teaming with bright, colorful new corals and more than 60 species of animals includes, bonnet head sharks, southern stingrays, angelfish and a hawksbill sea turtle. You can watch divers hand-feed sharks, sea turtles and eels during the day.

The HUGE (3 million gallon) Oceanarium, gives an overview of sea life of the Pacific Northwest Coast. The Oceanarium has beautiful Beluga whales, sea otters and seals, but the real stars are the Pacific White-Sided Dolphins. The dolphins perform in a spectacular show of aero and hydrodynamics. Thanks to the massiveness of the aquarium, the dolphins have tons of room to show off their speed to the crowd. You can watch them underwater from the windows at the lower levels or during the shows from the amphitheater seating.

Tickets range from $8.00 to $30.00 depending on your itinerary. An aquarium pass gets you access to explore Shedd's original galleries and innovative exhibits: Amazon Rising, the Caribbean Reef and Waters of the World. A Premium pass lets you experience all the aquarium has to offer: the Oceanarium, Wild Reef, Lizards and the Komodo King, Amazon Rising, the Caribbean Reef, Waters of the World and a choice of 4-D Special FX Theater features.

What is 4-D? Apparently there’s a fourth dimension to thrill the senses. The combination of high-definition digital 3-D projection, high-tech audio and “special FX” seats thrills with bubbles, wind, strange and wonderful smells, tickles, amazing sounds and surprises.

Casual American fare like pizza and sandwiches are served in the modern Bubble Net Food Court. For a swankier dining experience check out the new Soundings restaurant with a gorgeous view of Chicago, sustainable seafood (duh) organic, locally grown produce, wines and cocktails. Now that’s an aquarium.

Perfect for a date or a rainy weekend inside an underwater menagerie.

Average Review Rating : 5 of 5

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