So began my adventure at Jazzin’ at the Shedd at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Aquariums are great, I have one in my home. Whenever I’m traveling and the city has an aquarium, I try my hardest to stop by and visit it. I can’t pinpoint when this fascination began. It might have been the summer I worked at the New England Aquarium in Boston, or the snorkeling trips I took on family vacations in the Caribbean. Whatever the reason, aquariums are cool. How could they be any better? Add a little Jazz music.
That’s exactly what the Shedd Aquarium did. Thursdays evenings in the summer the aquarium is open late. They set the patio up with a tent, added some food, drinks and jazz bands and an ordinary aquarium visit turned into something really special. What I first noticed was the building it was in. They don’t make ‘em like they used to, that’s for sure. Built in 1930, the aquarium is housed inside an old stone building along Lake Michigan. The building exudes majesty, authority and pride. It’s well-deserved. Once in the queue, I was impressed with the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
At first glance, what seems like an average chandelier, upon closer inspection reveals fishy animals on the bottom. Great attention to detail. There were 2 ticket options available to purchase. The cheaper version does not include the Shark Tank and Whale/ Dolphin exhibits. For an extra 6 bucks I bought the whole thing – and you should too. Not only are the exhibits worth it, but that money will only help the aquarium to continue to offer such great opportunities as Jazzin’ at the Shedd.
I was impressed with how friendly the staff was. The ticket seller, ticket collector, photographer, cashier, food runner, everyone was glad to be there and glad to meet me. That’s uncommon in a lot of businesses. I was smiling all night long. My first stop was the Beluga Whale Exhibit, known as the Oceanarium, since it closed earlier than other parts of the aquarium. There are several Beluga Whales in the tank, two of them are pregnant. It is amazing to see these animals and think that there is a baby beluga swimming around inside. Lighting is generally dark in an aquarium, but I did my best to bring to you some of the highlights at my YouTube Channel. Here I am in the Oceanarium searching for the Beluga Whales.
The aquarium has the standard fare of exhibits: dolphins, river creatures, the Amazon, Lake Michigan, a Coral Reef and several others. One could easily spend 3-4 hours reading every panel and pressing your nose up to every glass. I had plans to see other parts of the city that night and spent about 2 hours. I felt like I was rushing myself. In fact, I walked past one tank and saw nothing but a big rock. It turns out, that rock was actually an Alligator Snapping Turtle. Take a look.
City museums are notorious for closing early. Case in point, I really wanted to visit The Field Museum of Chicago to see Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex Fossil. Unfortunately, the museum closes at 5 P.M. each night. That’s why I was doubly impressed at the Shedd Aquarium. They were open late and enhanced their evening entertainment offerings. I went out on the patio to check it out.
My colleagues from work decided to go out to eat Thursday night at a fancy Chicago restaurant. I was the only one interested in going to the aquarium instead. I think I made the better choice, don’t you? Timing my meal right at sunset, I grabbed a Mozzarella and Tomato Panini, found a table on the waterfront and relaxed to the sounds of Jazz in the air and the Chicago City Skyline in the distance.
That Panini by the way, was the best Mozzarella and Tomato Panini I have ever had, seriously. Usually museum food stinks, but this was the exception. This was hit #2 for Chicago food. You may have read about hit #1 yesterday, Portillo’s. I was going to leave after dining outside until I accidently stumbled upon the Wild Reef. Remember I had paid to go see it, but I somehow neglected to stop there during my explorations.
The Wild Reef is home to their coral reef exhibits and shark tank. Coral reefs, no matter where they are, are beautiful. The colors are always stunning and the Shedd delivered. What was more impressive however, was their shark tank.
Though it pales in comparison to the ocean tank at the Georgia Aquarium, the shark tank here is pretty wild. It has tall panes of seamless glass looming over you. They were polished clean and provided an excellent view into the diverse aquatic environment on the other side. If I had a chair, I could have just sat there and watched it all day long. Be sure not to miss it.
The Shedd Aquarium is hosting it’s last Jazz night tomorrow night, August 27th. If you’re in the Chicago area, it’s worth checking out. Judging by the crowds in attendance, which by the way were dressed up like they were going out to a fancy restaurant, I’d expect them to have it next year.
Upon leaving the aquarium I sought out to discover the nighttime sights of the city. You’ll see those tomorrow. Until then, you can visit my Flickr site for more photos from my evening at the Shedd Aquarium. And after all the picture taking, I didn’t take any photos of the bands themselves! I don’t know how that happened!
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