Shedd Aquarium Reviews

Jazz night at the shedd is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon /evening whether you are with the baby or in a date and the pulled pork sandwich is huge and tasty! The Shedd is a great aquarium, the organization does incredible conservation work, the stores inside have fun products, completely worth the visit

Such an amazing aquarium, nearly spent the whole day there. The staff was wonderful and educational. Highly recommend seeing the aquatic show. Only complaint is food is pricey but that s expected for an aquarium.

Loved the aquarium, wish things were cheaper but a bucket list item crossed off.

Amazing place to spend with your family. We came during Spring Break and it was packed with visitors, kinda hard to see all the exhibit in details.

Loved dolphin/penquin/seal show, the large central aquarium with rescued sea turtle, & sculptures increasing awareness of horrors of ocean trash were spectacular.

Well this place is a must see when visiting Chicago. The place is pretty big and tons of things to see and do. entrance fee for non resident is pretty pricey but hey anything to conserve the aquarium eh . Can get crowded during the weekends and loads of kids . Like me. Oh this place is also cool for when you go on a date. Animals are always an interesting topic. Also when you head outside the parking lot, you can get a pretty good view of the city . Night time views are always the best!

Plenty of fun exhibits so everyone gets a view even on busy days. Very clean and the volunteers know a lot!!

Very warm inside and smells like some rooms may have mildew maybe mold.

An interesting place not only for children, but also for adults. The territory of the aquarium is very large. The aquarium has large aquariums and various types of fish and marine inhabitants. There are also interesting programs for the entertainment of children and adults. The price for the ticket is acceptable.

Plenty of things to see & do with your family. Great view of the Chicago lakefront. Plenty of good family time

5 stars if you buy a bundle for things to do in the city. It's not cheap. But neither is having an amazing aquarium with some pretty cool animals and conservation going on. So yes if you visit the city or live there you have to make this one of your stops! You will not be disappointed.

Honestly it's overpriced for the quality of the aquarium. Just seems old and in need of some serious renovations. Kids will have fun sure but if you're been to othet aquariums anywhere, you will likely be disappointed.

My significant other and I have visited the Shedd Aquarium twice now and both times we really enjoyed our experience. The staff here are genuinely motivated in the field of animal conservation and want to give these animals the best lives they can in captivity. Along with this they are knowledgeable and friendly to all patrons. I particularly enjoy the beluga whales, which out of the aquariums and zoos I've been to is a unique addition! I would recommend the Shedd Aquarium to anyone from families to couples for a fun day seeing a variety of aquatic life from many cultural regions. Only advice would be to steer clear of the steep food prices but the gift shop has fun keepsakes and knickknacks. Although, if you do eat there they have a lot of options and I'm sure that it supports the aquarium which I think they do deserve. Also get the ChicagoPass it's a great deal!

This place is so beautiful. The sharks are amazing to watch. Every single creature looked healthy and happy. I think that is key to the success of this aquarium. Staff were excellent! Especially excellent was Bill! He was incrediblly passionate and it was easily passed on to others. Please go and support this place!

Interesting exhibition, but it doesn't manage crowd very well. Make sure to book ticket (at kiosk inside aquarium) for dolphins show in advance. It has limited seating, and show is spectacular so you don't want to miss it.

Loved this place as did my 3 year old. Only thing I didn't like is it is hard to navigate around, but other than that highly recommend.

Although a bit pricey, and filled with long lines, there were lots of cool fish and other animals to see, and the 4-D movie was amazing! Definitely a place you want to check out if you're in Chicago.

Wonderful experience, many exhibits, the food is very expensive. But other than that the place is fantastic.

Great field trip for the family... even with masks and social distancing.

Discounted for Chicago residents, excellent way to spend the afternoon. Lockers available for coats and such. Arrive EARLY for dolphin shows as seating started long before the show for us. Parking is good, either street or lot (~$20).

So many beautiful species and a great dolphin show.

The Shedd Aquarium is a great place to visit to learn more about the fascinating sea world. There are so many species of fish from an abundance of regions to view. Facts are strewn across the exhibits about most of the animal inhabitants. There are also live shows and events such as the dolphin show that allow you witness beautiful creatures. The Shedd is amazing for not only younger children on school field trips, but also young adults or higher since they offer internships, volunteer excursions, and many more opportunities to be introduced to marine life. The only thing I don't agree with is the captivity abd treatment of certain animals like the stingrays. Hundreds of hands are allowed to touch them weekly even though it can frighten them and is just plain rude. I wish the animals weren't subjected to such gawking and got to be surrounded by more people who truly cared about them.

A tad smaller than I was expecting, but was a great time overall

Amazing. My kids were petting fish here. We watched a dolphin show. We woukd have stayed hours longer but it closed. Only downside is parking is tough ans they enforce the meters like sharks....no pun intended

Shedd aquarium is beautiful! The exhibits are well placed and there are so many exhibits to see. The focus for aquarium enthusiasts is growth and rehabilitation of marine life, with a particular aspect to exhibits with early life stage fish and marine life. TL;DR the fish here are small and cute

The Shedd is a nice aquarium and there is a lot to see but I don't feel it was worth the hour and 20 minutes I waited outside in the cold. The ticket line is poorly managed and they could easily allow more people to wait inside rather than outside, atleast during the winter.

I have traveled all over the world and still believe this is one of the best aquariums in the United States.

A definite must-see when in Chicago. The show is awesome, and brings awareness to the ocean wildlife. Dolphins, beluga whales, and so much more to see.

A wonderful place to see the underwater life. Take the 4D exp as well you will love it.

Shedd is a nice place to go with family and friends if you have some free time and a little bit of money to spend. Tickets are a bit expensive but the aquarium is nice and there is a lot to see inside. If you are going to buy tickets there, the line is going to be very long. Expect to wait an hour or longer just to get tickets if you are going past 11am. There are other options to avoid the long line and go right to the front of another line but, that will cost more ($54.00 I think).

Awesome time, probably about two to three hours of activity not including shows.

Lived the barrier reef desplay, sharks, great lakes and the different types of Forrest.

Definitely go to check off your bucket list. The centrally located Caribbean attraction is colorful and informative. Just when you think you've seen everything there, around the corner, there's something else! Plan to spend a solid 3 hours or more, on your visit.

A great place to spend a few hours, very educational and quite expansive as aquariums go. The cafe and gift shops were even interesting and unique. I look forward to another visit in the future!

Not much to do if it's too crowded. Can't see anything, but when it's mostly empty it's very fun.

Love.the layout, the walkability to so many other fun things in Chicago. Clean, fun great big gift shop, kids toys are reasonable. So much fun to revisit as an adult with my little one!!

A great aquarium! Make sure you get there early and give yourself plenty of time. Might not be the best for toddlers who lose interest quickly due to its size, but definitely very educational

This aquarium is great! It's very clean. Food is a little expensive and gift shop as well. But definitely a great place to bring the kids to.

Really aweeome definitely should make room to go here n a also must see is navy pier when visiting shy town

Lots to see but not much for kids to do, only one hands on experience (touch pool).. expect lots of walking and crowds. Dolphin show was more info than a show. Good enough for one, maybe two visits a year.

I felt HORRIBLE for going here... I m not normally one to get caught up in animal treatment in zoos and the likes, but these exhibits are terribly depressing. It s worth a walk up and down the area though.

Lot of fish and sea specis . My kid love this place and i have visited almost 4 times.

Chicago resident admission is $20! Which is a steal for one of my favorite places in the city. Only good things and wonderous animals. I mean electric eels and sea otters?? Come on!

The aquarium is awesome once you get inside but they need to streamline the entrance and ticket purchasing options. Very pricey to buy full admission which makes buying a membership more attractive esp for middle sized to large families. Upside to buying a membership is you get to skip the ridiculous line.

It is a nice place to visit with family and friends but due to covid some things are closed. But overall a nice experience my little one loved it.

Pretty cool aquarium. The layout makes an engaging experience with lots of activities for the kids. I think my kids liked their random jellyfish pods the most.

Nice older aquarium. A bit noisy for my taste, small spaces with too many people crammed in but they had beautiful exhibits & awesome messaging about plastic and environmental awareness.

I loved seeing the shark exhibit and how Shedd in working on preservation and conservation. Tropical fish and sting ray touch experience was great!

The aquariums are terrific, you truly experience being in a different world!

I had a really good time here. So much to see friendly staff nice little cafe too!

The 4D experience was really cool! Had an amazing date day, took us about 3hrs to see everything. Got to touch a stingray !!!!!

This place is very relaxing to me and an escape from outdoor crime

Not worth the money since 50% of the fish can be found in a pet store.

awsome place for kids and family!!! we enjoy it a lot...

Had a very fun day here. There is a lot to do and a lot of cool things to see. I would recommend getting here early, it can get very crowded and when we left in the afternoon there was an hour long line just to get in the front door.

This month is free
Very helpful people

Great not just for kids for everyone. It has a huge area with various kinds of fishes, reptiles and even corals. You can easily spend half a day here by visiting the place and also enjoying yourself by eating something at one of the various restaurants they have - beach view :)

This is a very nice aquarium, laid out in such a way that you can amble along for quite a while and not realize how close you are to where you started. They literally have something for everyone. I particularly enjoyed the sharks and rays. My grandson seemed to get a kickbout of the jellies. There are multiple levels, and seemingly always something new around the corner. Be sure to budget enough time! You could easily make a daybday out of a visit here.

Amazing aquarium but do be warned that it can be incredibly crowded on holidays and free days, plan ahead! Really takes a whole day to see everything too.

Able to see whole aquarium in about 4 hrs. Great exhibits. Touch tank for the stingrays is awesome. Great views. Decent food. Sea otters were only out for a few minutes. They just had a baby beluga born so no show.

This aquarium is huge and a wonderful place to experience.

Today was my first time there. I would love to go back again!

My favorite museum so far! The kids had so much fun.

Its extremely beautiful well worth the cost . It has string ray touch

Lots of things to check out. Kids would love it! Especially the stingray feel. Oh yea, buy your tickets online so you won't have to stand in line. The only parking place I found was across the museum next to the Shedd in Soldier stadium. Letting you know... because it took me a lot of turns to find parking.

One of the best aquariums I have ever visited. Go early to avoid crowds and definitely see the dolphin show while you're there.

The only negative is parking. Always enjoy the ever changing live show. The 4 D movie experience is worth it ( they even have a good one for toddlers). There is a play space on the lower level across from the penguin exhibit. The best part of the aquarium is the jazz on Wednesdays evenings ( starts at 5pm) in the summer.

Shedd Aquarium is always a good time. They have so many incredible fish and the staff there are great sources of knowledge. We probably spent about six hours there and saw every exhibit.

I had no idea at the time but when I was a teenager, I hit the jackpot at Shedd. I was checking out the Caribbean display while there was a diver in the water. She was showing off a bunch of the fish while feeding them. She also coaxed out the eel enough so I could see him. Later on the same trip, I got to see the sawtooth, which they say only comes out once or twice a day. Dead serious, I got to see both! It was awesome! My second trip to Shedd wasn't quite as unique but still so much fun!

Thanks, Shedd!

How could you not love the Shedd! I guess if it's too busy it might not be the easiest to get up to the front of each tank, but the day we went was perfect. If you get there early enough there is parking right next to the building. Not a huge lot though.

best building to see some exotic and awesome live animals. My favorite one is jellies. Do not miss to see them....

Wow, if you haven't had a chance to visit the Shedd aquarium you are missing out on a fun, cultural as well as educational experience.

Great place to take the family. They have an excellent dolphin show.

Super beautiful museum, the view from outside is so beautiful, the service was great, the interactions were awesome, and very informative. One of the best Aquariums I ve ever been to. I ve been to Chicago twice and I m so glad the second time we came to the Aquarium it was incredible. Must watch: the shows in the theater!!

We always have a great time here! My daughter got in free with her active duty military ID.

Always a wonderful time. The membership is worth it: just to avoid the line to get in.

I take my family here when they visit from other states. We love it... Very kid-friendly. Everything is clean and organized. Tours are informative. The aquarium is generally a bit pricey in terms of admission, food, gift shop items, etc. but isn't that true of any place in the downtown Chicago area? Well worth it, in my opinion.

I had a great time at the Shedd! Went during an Illinois free day and it wasn't too busy which was something I was worried about. I do miss the spider crabs I believe they are called but I could have just missed them, plus it's been awhile since I've been to the Shedd. The only issue I have was that cans of soda are cheaper than the same size can of water. That may be set by the vendor but I still think that's a tad bit annoying. Wish it wasn't like that. Either way love this place!

Not as great as I remembered it as a kid. Pretty pricey, but a good way to entertain your kids if you're in the area.