Thanks to my membership to the Chicagoland Marine Aquarium Society (I carry the official ID badge in my wallet), I was able to get three tickets to go on a behind the scenes tour of the Shedd Aquarium. Emma and Grace accompanied me.
When we got there, we joined the 100 other Marine Aquarium Enthusiasts for a thrilling slide show presentation titled “Spawning of endangered corals off the coast of Puerto Rico.” The girls were thrilled! Following the slide show, we went under the Shedd to see the equipment rooms, the salt-mixing areas, the pumps, filters, etc. Emma turned to me and said, “I thought we were going to see fish today?”
Next we saw the service side of the shark reef. Here is a picture of the girls, taking photos of the sharks in the medicine tank:
The girls did start to enjoy this part, although I think they were still confused about the trip. Next we saw the top of the living reef exhibit, which is an awesome exhibit. But more importantly than the fish, were the huge protein skimmers on the other side. Look at these things. I have one under my tank, which is about twenty inches tall. And, as if you don’t already know, protein skimmers are the equipment that spins the poop out of the water. At the the top of the tube, is a clear upside down funnel filled with brown and green stuff. That’s the poop!
The next photo is of the old part of the aquarium. Emma and Gracie are looking into one of the exhibits, and you can see the sign that says don’t touch. The fish in this tank has the most powerful jaws at the aquarium. When it snaps it jaws, you can hear them from across the room. Cool! I held Gracie over the tank for a closer look.
Next we saw this little tank of Jelly Fish. They were just floating around in this small tank in one of the work areas.
This photo is of the display level/side of the Shedd. You can see the same blue walls that were in the earlier photo with the do not touch sign in it. Look at the size of this crab. It is a large as Emma’s Head!
The Shedd also has two exhibits I had never seen before, one is the living reef (that is a huge anemone next to the girls, not a sculpture of Leo’s intestines from his tummy tuck surgery) and the other is a new Lizards exhibit, where we saw a Kimono Dragon. It was the size of Emma. So these are the last photos to share from the trip. The girls had a great time in the end. Now only if I can convince Jenny to go with me next weekend!
