Shedd Aquarium Streamlines Arrival and Builds Belonging with Enhanced Entry Experience

CHICAGO – Shedd Aquarium opened a new, enhanced entry experience that greatly improves the physical accessibility of the historic building, while providing guests with more choice on how to begin their journey to the aquatic world. The transformed entry is part of a Welcome Plaza that will soon include more activated garden space, pop-up programming for Museum Campus visitors and a new external ticketing pavilion. A dynamic hanging sculpture punctuates Shedd’s new atrium, featuring 1,600 porcelain fish representing native species found in Lake Michigan.

Previously known as Shedd’s Accessible Entrance, the renovated entry has been significantly widened to improve guest flow, as this will serve as the primary entry and exit for the nearly 2 million guests that visit the aquarium each year. State-of-the-art ticket scanning and security screening technology will help expedite the entry experience and get guests to animals faster. Materials were chosen to help blend new additions with the restored historic Beaux-Arts architecture.

“Our new enhanced entry experience is an outstretched hand, inviting guests to gather, explore and commune with biodiversity,” said Meghan Curran, chief marketing and experience officer at Shedd Aquarium. “This is a space where technology, architecture and green space collide to help make the aquarium and nature more accessible, safe and welcoming to all.”

Upon entering, guests will have more choice than ever before about where to start their visit. Where all guests used to begin their journey at the historic gallery level, now new ramping will allow guests to walk directly into the Abbott Oceanarium, and elevators will soon be able to take guests immediately down to the Wild Reef exhibit. Guests who still want to start in the historic galleries can still use the elevators, but they can also access them by traveling up the newly installed stairs and escalators, which spill out into the aquarium’s Grand Hall. This will all help the aquarium maximize its square footage by greatly improving guest flow through the building and making it easier for guests to move from exhibit to exhibit more intuitively and organically.

The entry is also equipped with new amenities including an information desk, a Member Service Suite and a brand new Shedd store to purchase souvenirs upon entering or before departing, including Shedd-inspired swag and other fun collaborations with local artists.

A Love Letter to Lake Michigan

Shedd Aquarium is also unveiling a brand new, permanent art installation that hangs inside the new atrium lobby. Created out of vitreous china, the hanging sculpture features 1,600 individual fish representing Lake Michigan species, including longnose gar, lake trout, walleye, cisco, northern pike and lake sturgeon. Commissioned by Shedd and designed by artist David Franklin, in partnership with Kohler, the piece – titled “The Once and Forever Lake Michigan” – celebrates the ancient aquatic species that have thrived in this region for thousands of years, while inspiring their continued protection for generations to come.

Guests traveling up or down newly installed stairs and escalators will be able to get a closer look at the sculpture from various angles as they move from one level of the aquarium to another. As visitors move and flow through the space, views of the sculpture shift and change like a living school of fish in the lake.

“Shedd Aquarium has a critically important place in our community -- positioned right where the vast wilderness of the Great Lakes meets the vibrant city of Chicago – a fitting place to celebrate the fish of lake Michigan,” said Sarah Hezel, vice president of design and exhibits at Shedd Aquarium.

The installation took 30 days to complete, with Franklin, his wife Joanne Franklin, and his team hanging each individual fish in the exact right position. The result is a dynamic formation of fish caught in suspended animation that can be viewed by guests from multiple vantage points as they enter or exit the aquarium.

“My hope is that this sculpture will transport visitors entering Shedd into a dynamic scene beneath the surface of Lake Michigan as a preview of all the wonders that await them inside the aquarium,” said Franklin. “It was made at Kohler, near the shore of the lake, by the kind and hardworking people of the region. It is also intended to showcase the natural treasures swimming in Chicago’s home waters.”

The materials used to create the sculpture were scrupulously chosen to help blend the enhanced entry with the aquarium’s original architecture. And while much of the historic details of the building enshrine marine species, this new installation helps the aquarium balance that motif with standout species from the freshwater world.

“The Once and Forever Lake Michigan” is the second commissioned piece of art for the aquarium, following the iconic “Man with Fish” statue that remains the centerpiece of the aquarium’s continually transforming Welcome Plaza. Created by artist Stephan Balkenhol and installed in 2001 as a gift to the aquarium from the Sick Family, the bronze-cast fountain has become synonymous with Shedd and an instantly recognizable gathering place for aquarium guests and Museum Campus visitors alike.

The aquarium’s entry enhancements are part of a broad and sweeping strategic plan – Shedd's Centennial Commitment – which is accelerating the aquarium’s mission ahead of its centennial year in 2030 and preparing Shedd for the next 100 years of service. Shedd’s entry experience is the latest space to be transformed as part of the aquarium’s multi-year Experience Evolution, following the reopening of Amazon Rising in September. The aquarium will also be launching a brand-new exhibit – Wonder of Water – in Shedd’s iconic rotunda space later this year.

Transformational support for Shedd’s Centennial Commitment has been provided by The Harvey L. Miller Family Foundation, the Morgridge Family Foundation, the Mansueto Foundation, Mary and Stephen Byron Smith and Builders Initiative. Lead contributions have also been generously provided by the Cynthia Parker Matthews Family Foundation, The Grainger Foundation, Kenneth C. Griffin, Mike and Lindy Keiser, Anna and Bob Livingston, The Regenstein Foundation and the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust.

Lead project partners on the aquarium’s transformation and restoration include joint venture Chicago-based general contractor partners Pepper/BMI Construction LLC, architect Valerio Dewalt Train, project manager JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle), Shedd’s Design and Exhibits team, diversity, equity and inclusion partner Trinal Inc. and more.

VISUALS: Find high-resolution photos and video of Shedd’s new entry here:

https://personal.filesanywhere.com/guest/fs?v=8e6f6b8c616471b6a99d&C=50

Photo Credit: ©Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez (unless otherwise noted)

Video Credit: ©Shedd Aquarium/Sam Cejtin