We *Heart* Shedd Aquarium

Friends and family know that we love Chicago's museums. Because of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition aka "World's Fair", much of the construction and ideals of public exhibits and spaces permeates Chicago's lakefront area. About 3 years ago, we started buying 1 yr memberships to one select museum to explore to our heart's content. We started with the Museum of Science & Industry close to the University of Chicago, moved onto the Field Museum more north, and are now finishing up our stint at the Shedd Aquarium. And of the 3 museums so far, I think the Shedd Aquarium is the most accessible and easiest museum so far.

Maybe it's because I'm fascinated by sea animals. For example, the (giant) turtle. Here's the stuffed animal version that hangs next to the anaconda exhibit. It's so furry...how can you resist rubbing up against it and getting public cooties? You can't. Their giant turtle, Nickel, had his back flippers permanently injured by an outboard motor off the coast of Florida. He's called Nickel because when he was brought to the Shedd to recover, they found a nickel in his stomach (via X-ray). He paddles around the giant tank with the butt up in the air.

And here is a fish that Dan and I have spent countless minutes staring it, trying to get it to move positions and its color. It's a rockfish that can adapt its skin tone to match its surroundings. Here, it looks like part of the plant it's clinging on to. I've seen lots of visitors pass by this exhibit without even noticing its magic tricks. Their loss.

This is what I affectionately call the "Nemo tank" in the Amazon Reefs special exhibit. It comes right after the floor to ceiling shark tank, and you can hear the cries of "Nemo! Nemo" from children. It's a cutie.

And the beluga whales! There is a whole family of them in the Oceanarium. The baby, Nunivik, is the greyest of them all. Their mouths are shaped such that they look like they have permanent gentle smiles.

And here is Lucy, the male dragon lizard. At least, that's what the trainer said. The Shedd got 2 lizards, one female and one male. They called them Lucy and Ricky, but got the genders mixed up (apparently it is way way hard to figure out which sex you are if you are a lizard). They still call them by their original names.

Shedd Aquarium had a Members' Night where members such as us got a "behind the scenes" experience. The coolest part was being able to go to the top of the prominent Caribbean central tank and peer down at all the animals. We try to be green and take the El (public transportation) there whenever possible. Picture below of us at the North/Clybourn subway stop.

Tangent: When I took Dan's grandma and brother, David, to the Shedd last June, Grandma would point to various fishes and say "How-tze, how-tze". "What's 'how-tze'?", I asked David. Grinning, he said, "It means, delicious." So she was trying to tell me which fishes were tasty to eat. Love it. I look forward to traumatizing our children some day by pointing out which fishes are delicious to eat.