Cost:	- $17.95 per child 3-11, $24.95 per adult, free for children 2 and under, Membership packages available
	- Discounts: Available for teachers, military personnel, Chicago police officers and firefighters; $3 discount for Chicago residents, students and senior citizens
	- Community Discount Days: Free general admission and discounted rates for other exhibits (52 discount days a year), see http://www.sheddaquarium.org/discounts.html for list
	- Parking: Soldier Field north garage $16 for first 4 hours, $19 up to 12 hours, $25 valet service available on weekends

Ages welcome:

All ages

Hours:

9 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. weekends

Parent Comments & Ratings

PROS

The Shedd Aquarium offers a variety of exhibits to teach its visitors all about the underwater world. You and your little ones can get up close and personal with sharks and eels in the Wild Reef or explore the self-contained ecosystems of islands and lakes in Waters of the World. For the youngest of visitors, a favorite exhibit undoubtedly will be the Polar Play Zone.

While water and sea creatures seem to mesmerize kids of all ages, after a good half hour, my little munchkin wants to do his own exploring. That’s when we head to the Polar Play Zone. There’s a water table area where kids can touch colorful sea stars and move toy creatures around. Near the Play Zone’s penguin display, little ones can dress up in penguin suits and slide down some “icy drifts.” There are even staff on hand to teach them how to hold penguin eggs between their feet. There is also a kid-sized submarine to explore near the Beluga whales.

If you come on a free community day and don’t want to pay the extra fee to visit the Polar Play Zone, you have another hands-on option for your curious toddler. Camp Shedd is a little campsite set up for kids to learn about native turtles, snakes, frogs, birds of prey and other creatures. There’s a canoe with oars and life jackets, a tent with plastic camping gear, and coloring activities inside the tent. When my son was a year old, he enjoyed climbing in and out of the canoe and cooking plastic eggs in a frying pan near the tent.

The Shedd also offers a program called Tots on Tuesdays, set up especially for ages 2 to 6 years. It takes place every Tuesday and includes story times, crafts, videos, animal touch programs and costumed characters.

CONS

The Polar Play Zone is specifically designed for young kids, so naturally there are a lot of parents hauling their strollers in and out of this area. While the elevators are quite large in the main area of the Shedd, the elevator leading to the Polar Play Zone is very small and slow. You probably don’t have to imagine what it’s like to wait in a line of strollers with a tired, impatient toddler. After 10-15 minutes of waiting on one occasion, I decided to haul my stroller and tot up the stairs. That wasn’t much fun either. To prevent such a headache, I would go first thing in the morning or call ahead to see if there will be any kids’ groups visiting the Polar Play Zone. Ask about upcoming days that may be less crowded.

Another piece of advice: if you want to see the dolphin show, head toward the Oceanarium ampitheater about a half hour before the showing. Ask a volunteer or staff member to point you to the stroller parking area nearby. Park your stroller first and then go find a seat. During my last visit, I arrived at the ampitheater in plenty of time. Unfortunately, I was told by a Shedd volunteer to take my stroller to the lower level viewing area. After riding an elevator down there and waiting 10 minutes in a line that had formed, I found out the lower area wasn’t even going to open. By the time I got back up to the main level and parked my stroller, I had to wait in another line because the ampitheater was getting full. At the end of my wait, I was turned away with a very tired toddler.

LOGISTICS

If you have purchased a membership, have a Chicago Citypass or have free tickets on hold from a Shedd volunteer, you do not have to wait in the same line as everyone else. One of the volunteers can show you to the correct line.

The Shedd Aquarium can be quite an expensive visit. If you’re on a budget, consider visiting on a Community Discount Day. General admission will be free, but you’ll still need to pay for certain exhibits like the Polar Play Zone.  (It would cost $16.95 for adults and $11.95 for children age 3-11.) If that’s still too pricey for you, another “less fancy” hands-on exhibit would be Camp Shedd, as I mentioned above. Of course, you can also consider bringing a sack lunch and taking public transportation.

The aquarium can get very crowded. I suggest going early, and calling ahead to make sure you’re not planning to come on a day with a particularly large number of group visits. (Sometimes they can provide you with that type of information over the phone and sometimes they can’t. I guess it depends on whom you talk to.) For me, visits have been hit or miss. Some days have been great (including a couple Community Discount Days), and others have been too crowded to enjoy the visit with a toddler.

The Shedd has two cafes and a little food court. I’ve eaten at their Soundings Café and found the service very fast, even on a crowded day. (It was actually a great way to get away from the crowd.) I’ve also brought my own lunch and eaten in a vending area at the ground-level entrance. They have tables and chairs set up there, and a little station where you can purchase snacks and beverages.

There is a small designated nursing area. I’ve never used it, but I was glad to hear about it! You’ll just need to ask a staff member to point you in the right direction.

If you lose your parking garage ticket, be prepared to show your license, registration and proof of insurance upon exiting the garage. (Yep, it happened to me.) You’ll also need to pay for a full day of parking. I think it was around $24 if I remember correctly.

Website: http://www.sheddaquarium.org/

Map of 10 fun finds for tots at the Shedd: http://www.sheddaquarium.org/pdf/Shedd_for_Tots.pdf