Shedd Aquarium Reviews

The animals are being researched in order to better protect wild populations!

My kids and I had a blast. This is a great spot for a quick family day !

Spent 2.5 hours. Beautiful. Loved the jellyfish, dolphines, penquins and whales.

I don't even know where to begin. Ive been here before but never made it to the Oceanarium. Its been a life long dream to see whales and dolphins... Well I got to. Really hoping to see them in their natural habitat but one day, but seeing them here was close enough for now.

Love the support for military and their family, this was the best aquarium we ve been to and plan on returning.

The Shedd Aquarium is absolutely gorgeous and it is exceptionally caring of their aquatic creatures! I definitely wouldn't mind coming back and spending more time here with friends and family!

Great place for family fun. We were visiting from Ohio and my kids had amazing fun at the dolphin show and sting ray touch. Cant wait to visit again

They have wide variety of fishes.
Dolphin show was good

Went on one of the free days for Illinois residents. I can't believe they don't limit the number of people. We had to pay as we are not from here, but even free was not worth it

We had so much fun at the aquarium for our little one's birthday. It was fun to see her recognize fish from FINDING DORY inside their tanks. It was a neat experience for all.

Went for the second time since I was very little. It was beautiful! Tons to see. Seems like endless fish (and more) everywhere. Very clean atmosphere and the fish were amazing. It was a long day... not just a place to quick run through so I should have worn more comfortable shoes. I would go again and spend more time just watching.

Great attraction near by transportation and other good attractions if this one doesn't fill your entire day but it is $40 per adult which is a bit excessive

One of the four elements of life. Over
half of our body. Our affinity for water. Is natural. Our joy in water. Primal. Like the dolphin we play. Like saltwater fish we drink. Being able to observe first hand. Up close and personal. Residents of oceans. Lakes. From around the world. Just to be able to watch those that move with ease in the seas. Or from the land to the sea. Something I always wished I could do. Is a gift. It brings us a little closer to wonder. Awe.
Mesmerizing immersive experiences.
Not free. It comes at a price. What price do you put on the miraculous? Extra-ordinary opportunities. So worth it. For all we are given. Not just look, but touch a ? A beluga ? Personalized guided tours? Your agenda? The opportunity to be a marine mammal trainer? Even if it is four hours. The things dreams are made of. Shapes lives. Careers. Yes it's $$$. I get excited about things that I can't do in my everyday life. Think of one place for over 80 years dedicated to the preservation, maintenance and protection of over 32000 aquatic animals. Five million gallons of water. What the John G. Shedd aquarium offers in accessibility options to me is unparalleled. All types of handicaps. Even an app for those with sensory processing disorders. Warnings for those whose medical condition or assistive device may be affected by a presentation. This is a very large place with so much to see and do. It helps to plan what you want to see, how much time you will need, before you come. The educator's map download gives an overall organization perspective. Allow yourself the time you will need for exhibits, interactive learning. Include food, rest. Keep in mind availability. Areas, events can be seasonal or time limited. Shedd Aquarium can be $$$. Depends on how and when you come. Memberships. Free days subject to IL transaction fees. Discount days. Packages. Attraction passes. What they offer - including volunteer opportunities - and what they do for Conservation - makes any price a bargain. A very special place. I love it.

Absolutely unbelievable the variety in the aquarium. Great time with family!

Wonder day at the Aquarium. Highly recommend the City Pass well worth the cost.

If you love water species, this is the place to be. Great selection and great displays. Kids will enjoy it for sure. Not crowded during a working day.

One of the best aquarium I have visited . Amazing collection and superb shows

Excellent place to enjoy, outside and inside. Great city skyline from this location !!!

I have visited aquariums which were more informative and gave a better presentation. The 4D movie of "Costal Predators" was very informative and well produced. This is good for children.

all 3 of my kids had a blast and the place was very clean. staff is very nice and informative if you ask questions.

Took our son for his 2nd birthday and it was a good experience. The dolphins weren't available due them being pregnant so that was a bit of a bummer. The 4d shark movie was awesome! Everyone had a mask and kept their distance and the aquarium is kept clean and has a lot of sanitation areas. And its pretty empty now that they have times for people to go!!

Fantastic place, beautiful fishes enjoyed a lot with my LO. It's expensive. But sure I love to visit one more time

Awesome place to get some type of normality to life right now. Not at all packed able to see all the exhibits without wait. CDC guidelines on plane so your fine no worries go have fun.

Fantastic. I love the staff and the animals and the shows. I also loved that the whole building backs up against lake michigan. It made for a nice effect during the aquatic show. There was a lot to look at too, but not so much that you felt overwhelmed or that you wouldn't have enough time to see everything. Easily manageable in a couple of hours. Great for kids too! Lots of hands on stations

Visited the aquarium with my 15 year old daughter to kill an afternoon. There was a lot to see so it kept us occupied. They also have a pretty decent cafeteria so we enjoyed a lunch while there. The dolphin show was pretty cool and we hung out and watched the dolphins play for quite some time prior to the show.

A wide range of aquatic creature all under one roof.. you might be spending 5 hours the building itself have many things to offer..

Aquatic show and 3D experience were icing on the cake..

Cafeteria is awesome.. i recommend you have a coffee outside the cafeteria to experience the windy weather and Chicago skyline..

Too many screaming kids, no parental control, teacher control, and no chaperone controls. School buses everywhere. We drove 14 hours to see these venues and all these young undisciplined kids ruined our trip.

This place is wonderful, there is helpful staff. Food is alright, prices are a little over the top but affordable. A lot of gift shops. The dolpihn show is only a shadow of what it used to be but I understand that it is for the animals good, and I appreciate that.

Not the best aquarium I've been to definitely the most expensive. VA beach aquarium much better.

Great fun for the whole family. Plan to arrive early to avoid long lines.
A must see for anyone visiting Chicago!

This place was absolutely amazing. It is so beautiful. I went with my son and he loved it too.

This was a very fun and educators aquarium. My family and I loved the experience. Great place to go with children. Be prepared to walk-and definitely bring a camera, because great surprises await.

It's amazing, it will take you about 3 hours to take a good look at it. better if you can spend 4 hours.

An amazing place to visit and the 4D shark show was amazing. I totally dont regret coming here and it's an amazing place to visit whenever your in Chicago.

We went there on a weekend, the weather was not too good and we had a long queue. But the staff were great and they did a great job in organising the line and getting us inside real fast. There are separate accessible entrances for wheelchairs and strollers as well.

They offer free days to Illinois residents, and we used our IL state ID cards as proof of resideny to get inside free of cost. Usual cost is around $40 per person.

Was happy to see a food court in the lower level, where tou can have pizza, burgers, fries, chipotle bowls and also healthy salads. A bit over priced, but not too much. We got a good meal for two in about $35. They also have good cafes inside. If you dont want to purchase there, they have a sitting area with tables/chairs to bring in your own brown bagged foods and enjoy, where you can also buy beverages/snacks from the vending machines.

For the main experience, this is an amazing place with endless collection of small to big fishes and sea creatures. You can find tiny fishes, to mid sized ones right upto giant whales and sharks.

Be sure to check out on Google or their website if there are special shows going on (dolphin show, shark feeding etc.) which come at additional price but are totally worth watching.

Its a good one day experience, so reaching there around 10-11 am gives you good enough time to cover the ground (with breaks in between) before they close by 5pm.

Overall, highly recommended!

It was okay. The behind the scenes tour was not worth the price. The thing I enjoyed the most was the building itself (the unique design/architecture) and usually I m not into that sort of thing. Worth seeing once, but probably not for repeat visits.

The best experience of Beluga, Dolphin, Sharks, Sting Rays, Sea Horse and so many other different creatures under one roof

Great place to visit. Make sure you give an entire day to explore this place. The shows are a must. You can take food/drinks/snacks in (a bonus for little children) and there is a nice sitting area for the family to eat. Make sure to check out the website for ahow schedule to maximize your visit.

We had a good time it was exciting especially for me 3 y o. He loved it and did not want to leave

The belugas were a highlight. We missed the show time, and the admission price is quite high for non-residents. We were at the mercy of a 4 year old going through, but there was plenty for him to do and redirect him to when he got crabby or hungry.

It is a very nice place and you can learn alot here.

Nice facility, great show, friendly, helpful staff...whats not to like. Elevators made it easier as well.

One of the best water displays I've ever seen for schools of fish neat and clean facility directions are a little hard to follow I was wheelchair bound but still managed to see about 3/4 of the shed a great experience

Great aquarium, but if you re not from Illinois, NEVER go on a Free Day for Illinois residents. Spent $80 and wasn t able to see much due to the amount of people.

Amazing sea life, we spent hours walking around, lots of fun!

I really enjoyed the scenery but the staff were so rude and annoying.

Free to Illinois residents this month so you really cant go wrong! Free dolphin show where you also get to see some penguins and an owl. I would most deffinately recommend the $5 4D movie! Pet both Starfish and a Sturgeon! So awesome and a great day for family members of all ages!

Pretty fun lots of different animals 4d movies and stingray touch tank.

Great and interesting place. The dolphin show was amazing.

This is a best aquarium with amazing events. Glad to be a member.

Had a great time! Very glad we arrived by 9:30 so we were able to do everything we wanted before it got terribly crowded around noon!

They make learning about sea life fun. It's not the biggest of the museums which may give you time to see the Adler Planetarium down the block.

Very educational and a very entertaining experience.

I would not be able to rate this 5 stars probably because my expectations of any thing related to aquatic experiences in the States is quite high from what I have seen so far.

The dolphin, seal and penguin show was good but no where near compared to Sea World. The dolphin underwater enclosure was nice especially because it was next to a cafeteria from where you can watch them while eating some snacks.

The penguin enclosure is glass paned which in a way is good as it restricts the smell but also dampens the experience a little bit. The sea lion was very active and was a treat to watch.

The star attraction though was the Beluga whale which are very playful and look neat in their marble while complexion wandering around the mammoth tank.

The fish tank in the center is nice and well maintained. There are a huge number of other species of aquatic animals and the good thing is that they are distinctly placed for clear viewing.

It is a bit more crowded than everyone's liking but that suggests it is worth the money. We added the 4D show for 5$ and it was good for first timers in our group.

Overall, a very good place to visit if you are not going to any of the coasts in the US. Captures all in a nice capsule pretty well.

Great experience it's free for Illinois residents for the month of September 2018.

A lot smaller than I expected, I felt like we looked at everything rather quickly. I've heard a lot about this Aquarium for many years and, sadly, I was a little underwhelmed. It was a nice, well taken care of facility. My kids (5 and 10) were interested in some parts and were happy we went but at the end of the day, not rushing to go back anytime soon.

Shedd Aquarium was a lot of fun. My 3 year old daughter loved it. It's a pretty huge place, so we didn't even get to see everything. We'll be going back for sure.

It's been years since I've been. I had a great time.

awesome place to enjoy different sea creature but I think they should offer more variety of food

This aquarium is out of this world. I've been to multiple across the country and this is by far the best, largest, and most diverse I've seen yet. Exciting shows with dolphins and porpoises. And the sting ray touch tank is the best, magical really. Service was friendly. Parking expensive, use a parking service (like Spothero). They have Illinois Resident Free Days! Look em up on their website.

Beautiful with lots to see, if you want to learn it's also good because there's lots to read. They have shows such as films and animal performances. Love going there and look forward to going again.

Beautiful aquariums, clean, lots of exhibits for every type of marine life. The location is also superb and beautiful as well.

Smaller than I expected but still a very cool place. If you're going to go get the all included experience ticket for the shows. I would come back again for sure

I like it so much that I get in for free with a military ID, but bought a membership during COVID no less.

Lots to see and do. Clean exhibits. Plus a sea turtle.

This is a very good aquarium. It was very expensive for what you get though. The lines are very long to get in even if you get there before they open. The best times to walk around the exhibits are when everyone is attending one of the shows.

Beautiful aquarium! Skip the lines by buying tickets online, it's definitely worth it!! If you buy food or drink, go outside on their patio and enjoy the city skyline views over the water.

We took our 6 kids ranging from 5-18 there for my oldest daughters birthday yesterday. Everyone had a blast. We spent the entire day. I did not think it was possible to do everything in one day But much to my surprise if you plan it out very carefully and go go go all day you can, infact see and do everything there. You will however, be very rired afterwards. Very beautiful aquarium, with lots of animals to see, and very knowledgeable staff. We will be going again very soon!

The cost is exorbitant for what is available. $40 per adult and $30 per child. The largest creatures appeared to be a seal and the beluga. The beluga exhibit was closed because of a new calf. Most else was in small/medium fish-tank size exhibits.

Our kids thoroughly enjoyed the stingray and sturgeon touch tank exhibits.

The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta,GA is my benchmark for all aquariums. It is by far the best. For a major city, the Shedd Aquarium doesn t live up to expectation. Skip it unless you want some indoor time away from the weather.

My daughter LOVED the Sharks 4D movie. We all loved touching the manta rays (probably not identifying the type of ray correctly).

Awesome collection. Visited for Jazz at the Shed for second time and was very entertained. Bought membership and it has already paid for itself. Always look forward to returning.

Great place to take the kids.. use Uber or Lyft to get there from downtown.

You can spend a full day exploring the aquarium, planetarium, and museum.

They've done a great job with social distancing too.

Loved this place. I just wish it wasn't so expensive for private shows. People who need handicap access also end up booted to the back and can't see as many exhibits as those pushing to the front.

I enjoy myself. It was an educative, fun and entertaining time. Exploration of the ocean and lakes without getting wet.

An amazing place! You could easily spend a day exploring if you enjoy aquariums! I recommend the city pass because I skipped a two hour line of people waiting to get in.

The dolphin show is an absolute must!

We took our 9mo to the aquarium and she loved it. Lots of places to go and different types of fish and animals to see. Never felt very crowded even though it was a busy day. We saw the Balugas and Dolphins as well which she loved. Great place to bring kids for a family outing. Only thing was the elevators were in strange places and each one went to different floors so the place was sometimes difficult to navigate- get a map at the entrance desk!

Love this place. We were a group of adults. If you re into waterlife, this is the place to go.
Lots to read and view. Some places were over crowded. The lines for food were ridiculous. Didn t appear to have enough staff anywhere actually.
Asked one young employee a simple question and was greeted rudely and without an answer.

Amazing Aquarium. Could easily spend the whole day here trying to see it all.

Great aquarium, a large diversity of marine life to admire. I only wish there was more information about the species of fish they had besides just the name and location of habitat, but overall it was a great experience.

I used to love going to the Shedd Aquarium but I was very disappointed when we went over the weekend. My kids pointed out "bugs" everywhere which were actually cockroaches in a lot of the cracks and along the walls. I also don't understand why it's so expensive!!! I went about 7 yrs ago and the dolphin show was amazing, even did a presentation on the whale. This trip, 20 minutes and it was over. I was so disappointed, and no whale presentation!!! I don't get where my money was spent!!

My friend and I visited the aquarium on a free night that they had jazz bands playing. Super cool with smaller crowds. You could even by a drink to walk around with. Very friendly staff and an all around great night.

It was crowded but interesting. My family enjoyed it. They have a lot of fish.