Shedd Aquarium

Infobox zoo
zoo_name=Shedd Aquarium

---

image_caption=The John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago
location=1200 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois, USA
date_opened=May 30 1930
num_animals=32,667 [ [http://www.sheddaquarium.org/explore_by_animal.html Shedd Aqauarim - Explore by Animal] ]
num_species=2,100
members=AZA, Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums AMMPA
website=http://www.sheddaquarium.orgInfobox_nrhp | name =Shedd Aquarium
nrhp_type = nhl


caption =
location= Chicago, Illinois
lat_degrees = 41
lat_minutes = 52
lat_seconds = 4
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 87
long_minutes = 36
long_seconds = 50
long_direction = W
locmapin = Illinois
area =
built =1929
architect= Graham,Anderson,Probst & White
architecture= No Style Listed
designated= February 27, 1987cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1984&ResourceType=Building
title=Shedd Aquarium |accessdate=2008-07-23|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = February 27 1987
governing_body = Private
refnum=87000820cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

The John G. Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois in the United States that opened on May 30 1930. The aquarium contains over 25,000 fish, and was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world with convert|5000000|usgal|l of water. The Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. It is surrounded by Museum Campus Chicago, which it shares with the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History. The aquarium has 2 million annual visitors; it was the most visited aquarium in the U.S. in 2005, and in 2007, it surpassed the Field Museum as the most popular cultural attraction in Chicago. [cite news|title=Crain's List Largest Tourist Attractions (Cultural): Ranked by 2007 attendance|date=2008-06-23|page=22|publisher=Crain Communications Inc.|work=Crain's Chicago Business] It contains 2100 species including fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects. [cite web|url=http://www.sheddaquarium.org/pdf/publicrelations/fs_sheddoverview.pdf |format=pdf | title=Sheed Aquarium Overview| accessdate=2008-04-17| date=2006-01]

History

The Shedd Aquarium was the gift of retail leader John G. Shedd, a protégé of Marshall Field (benefactor of the adjacent Field Museum), to the city of Chicago. Although Shedd only lived long enough to see the architect's first drawings for the aquarium, his widow, Mary R. Shedd, cut the ribbon at the official opening ceremony.

Groundbreaking took place on November 2 1927, and construction was completed on December 19 1929; the first exhibits were opened on May 30 1930. As one of the first inland aquariums in the world, Shedd had to rely on a custom-made railroad car, the Nautilus, for the transport of fish and seawater. The Nautilus lasted until 1959.

In 1930, 20 railroad tank cars made eight round trips between Key West and Chicago to transport convert|1000000|usgal|l of seawater for Shedd’s saltwater exhibits. In 1933, Chicago hosted its second world's fair, the Century of Progress. The Aquarium was located immediately north of the fairgrounds, and the museum gained exposure to a large international crowd.

In 1971, the Shedd Aquarium added one of its most popular exhibits, a convert|90000|usgal|l|adj=on exhibit reproducing a Caribbean coral reef. That same year, the aquarium acquired its first research vessel, a 75-foot (23 m) boat for exploring the Caribbean, manned by a crew to conduct field research and collect specimens. In 1985, this boat was replaced with the aquarium's current vessel, the "Coral Reef II".

John Shedd's grandson, John Shedd Reed, who had served as president of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad from 1967 to 1986, was president of aquarium's board from 1984 until 1994, and was a life trustee until his death in 2008.cite news| url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8600351| title=John Shedd Reed, rail executive| publisher=San Jose Mercury News| author=Associated Press| date=2008-03-17| accessdate=2008-04-23] cite web|url=http://www.sheddaquarium.org/pdf/SHEDD-AR-2006.pdf | title=John G. Shedd Aquarium 2006 Annual Report| accessdate=2008-04-23 | date=2007-03-01] Ted A. Beattie has been the president and CEO of the aquarium since 1994.

In 1991, the Shedd Aquarium opened its Oceanarium, a large addition to the aquarium that features many marine mammals, including Pacific white-sided dolphins and belugas. The main convert|3000000|usgal|l|adj=on tank made it the largest indoor marine mammal facility in the world. [cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-shedd-renovations-21-may21,0,5259262.story?track=rss |title=Shedd Oceanarium to close for upkeep |accessdate=2008-06-29] In 2006, the Beluga whale Puiji gave birth to a female calf, later named Bella. On August 16 2007 Mauyak, another beluga, gave birth to a male calf named Miki, the Inuit word for small, bringing the total number of successful beluga calf births at the aquarium to three since 1999. The aquarium also boasts a number of sea otters; the core of this collection was a group rescued from the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill in 1989. In the Fall of 2008, the Shedd's Ocenarium will be closed for preventative sealing as well as administrative upgrades. The animals in the exhibit area will be put on loan to other facilities nationwide until the exhibit reopens in May or June 2009.

The Shedd's newest permanent exhibit, Wild Reef, opened in 2003. Located two levels below the main building, the convert|750000|usgal|l|adj=on Wild Reef exhibit recreates a Philippine coral reef and is based on the Apo Island Marine reserve, complete with living coral, multiple species of fish and rays, and a collection of sharks. The main draw of this attraction is a convert|400000|usgal|l|adj=on shark exhibit with convert|12|ft|m|adj=on high curved windows, allowing visitors a diver's-eye view. [cite web|url=http://www.sheddaquarium.org/history.html |title=About Shedd: History |accessdate=2008-04-17]

Granddad

Walter Chute, the aquarium's director from 1928 to 1964, wanted rare fishes to attract the 10 million tourists expected to visit Chicago for the exposition in 1933. Granddad, an Australian lungfish, arrived at Shedd in 1933, along with his mate, from Sydney during the Century of Progress world expo. During the expo's run, they attracted about 4.5 million visitors.cite web |url=http://www.sheddaquarium.org/granddad.html |title=Granddad: the Aquarium's Oldest Fish |accessdate=2008-04-17]

Although Granddad's mate died in 1980, he is still alive and is claimed by the aquarium to be the oldest fish in any aquarium in the world. He is at least 80 and likely much older; he weighs convert|25|lb|kg and is convert|4|ft|m in length. His normal behavior is to hang out like a sunken log on the bottom of his habitat.

Exhibits

There are five permanent exhibits at the Shedd: Amazon Rising, Caribbean Reef, Waters of the World, the Oceanarium, and Wild Reef. The temporary exhibits include the Lizards and the Komodo King, which features a Komodo dragon named Faust, through the summer of 2008. The Amazon Rising exhibit is a 8600 square foot walkthrough flooded forest recreation of the Amazon river and the surrounding jungle. This exhibit contains 250 different species, and its highest water level is 6 feet. The Caribbean Reef exhibit was built in 1971, on the site of the aquarium's very first exhibit, the Tropical Pool. A feature of this exhibit is a diver that interacts with the animals while talking with the people. A part of the exhibit is a convert|90000|usgal|l|adj=on circular tank that allows for maximum walk-around viewing. the tank is near the center of the first floor, and is within walking distance of Amazon rising, Waters of the World and Wild Reef. The Oceanarium is split into two levels, above and below the waterline. Above the waterline, there are two sets of bleachers where can watch the dolphins perform. While below the waterline, guests can see the Beluga Whales and Dolphins up close.

Recognition

The aquarium received awards for best exhibit from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for Seahorse Symphony in 1999, Amazon Rising in 2001, and Wild Reef in 2004.

Architecture

Shedd Aquarium is also notable for its architecture.The basic design, by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, [cite web| url=http://www.sheddaquarium.org/sheddarchitecture.html |title=About Shedd: Architecture Styles |accessdate=2008-04-17] is taken from classical Greek architecture, more exactly Beaux arts, to match the other structures of the Museum Campus. The central aquarium building is octagonal, fronted by Doric columns and a formal staircase and topped by a dome. Aquatic motifs are worked in at every opportunity; tortoise shells, dolphins, octopuses, waves, and even the Trident of Poseidon can be found all over the aquarium's exterior and interior. Improving upon its predecessor inland aquarium, the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit, extensive use was made of designs by Mary Chase Perry Stratton, incorporating her custom-made Pewabic Pottery tile. [cite web|url=http://www.craftinamerica.org/artists_clay/story_245.php |title=Mary Chase Perry Stratton |publisher=Craft In America, Inc. |accessdate=2007-04-17] The Oceanarium is done in a more modern style representing the Pacific Northwest, but one that blends with the older part of the building. "Whale Harbor", the Oceanarium's convert|3000000|usgal|l|adj=on main tank, is backed by a wall of windows that look out onto Lake Michigan.

ee also

*Chicago architecture

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.sheddaquarium.org Shedd Aquarium]