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Education
Educator Resources
Educator Admisson to Shedd
Educators receive free admission to Shedd Aquarium. Present your school ID or a current paystub at a cashier station to receive your free ticket.
Teacher Newsletter
Shedd Aquarium’s Fish Tales newsletter is a monthly electronic publication designed exclusively for educators. In addition to highlighting aquarium education programs, resources and collections relevant to teaching and learning, Fish Tales inspires creative aquatic science education in the classroom. From professional development opportunities to the latest Shedd news, Fish Tales has a wealth of information for you. For more information regarding Fish Tales, call 312-692-3165.
Sign up for Fish Tales.
Teacher Guides
Learning Lab Guides
Class and learning lab guides help prepare your class for a program at Shedd. Find key concepts and details about the programs. Connect your upcoming program to state learning standards. Plan a more focused field trip by learning which exhibits connect to the program you choose and access additional resources to help with further exploration.
Exploring Anatomy: Squid Dissection
Guide to Fantasea
Preview Shedd’s aquatic show, Fantasea, with this discussion guide, and use it again after your visit to make connections to your classroom experiences. The downloadable Guide to Fantasea can be projected in a classroom. The accompanying downloadable print file can help educators and chaperones enhance students’ connections during the field trip, and it can also be used in classrooms without projection capability.
Download the Guide to Fantasea (projection file):
Grades K-2
Grades 3-5
Grades 6-8
Download the Guide to Fantasea (print file)
Grades K-2
Grades 3-5
Grades 6-8
Ten Fun Finds Maps
Looking for activities for your next field trip? Check out our Ten Fun Finds maps. With these printable PDF maps, you can guide your students through a themed exploration of Shedd's animals.
Shedd Highlights – All-Access
Make Your Own Map!
For Tots
Oceanarium Discoveries
Staying Alive: Animal Adaptations
Cool Moves: Animal Movement
Disguises for Hiding: Animal Camouflage 
“Great Lakes in My World” Discovery Box
Shedd Aquarium has partnered with the Alliance for the Great Lakes to bring aquatic science with a local flavor into your classroom. Based on the Alliance’s “Great Lakes in My World” K–8 curriculum, the discovery boxes include lesson plans and all the necessary resources to guide your students through an exploration of the Great Lakes environment.
Boxes can be rented for $15 for a maximum of three weeks.
Boxes are available on the following Great Lakes topics:
Water (suggested for grades 4–8)
Habitats (suggested for grades 3–8)
Biodiversity (suggested for grades K–8)
Obtain a copy of the reservation form. For more information, call 312-692-3165 or e-mail teacherservices@sheddaquarium.org.
Shedd Educational Adventures (SEA)
Enhance learning with interactive online aquatic science resources for K-12 educators and students. Interactive programs and animal fact sheets virtually connect you and your students to Shedd Aquarium’s diverse collection of animals. Grade-specific lesson plans provide curriculum enhancements and focused field trip support with pre-trip, on-site and post-trip activities. All content aligns with Illinois and national science, language arts and math standards. Connect to SEA.
Activity Guides
Shedd Aquarium offers a variety of activity guides that provide classroom teaching tools to make a great connection to the aquarium.
Available activity guides: Amazon Connections, Coral Reefs, Oceans, Penguins, Fishes, and Sharks.
Green Your Classroom
Use ecofriendly cleaners in the classroom.
Ask students to monitor their water use at home and at school; create charts and graphs to discuss the results for reducing water use.
Conduct a waste audit. How many ways can students find to reduce their waste and recycle more?
Compost in your classroom. Request a workshop on demand for your teachers after school to learn how to create and use worm bins in your classroom.
Visit the Creative Reuse Warehouse to get free art and education supplies that have been donated by those no longer needing them.
NOAA Ocean Explorations
Follow along as NOAA scientists explore the depths of the oceans. Connect your students to science learning and aquatic environments with scientist blogs, video footage, and lesson plans created by educators for educators. Each year brings new expeditions from NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration.
Receive a Learning Ocean Science through Ocean Exploration curriculum and CD when you enroll in Shedd’s NOAA Ocean Exploration Part I program.
