New Brand Platform From Shedd Aquarium Centers Connection Amidst a Distracted, Divided World

CHICAGO – Today, Shedd Aquarium launches a new unifying platform that evolves how the public sees the institution’s work and purpose through the lens of connection. “For Love of Waterkind” demonstrates that sentiment and science are not in opposition, and love for the aquatic animal world is a powerful asset.

By redefining and reemphasizing Shedd’s animal care, conservation science, environmental education, community engagement and advocacy, the platform inspires the public to see the aquarium as more than a place to visit, but a cause, a convenor and a call to action. The brand platform mirrors transformations the aquarium continues to make to its historic home and accelerations to its mission and programs as part of its Centennial Commitment – a strategic plan preparing the aquarium for its centennial year in 2030 and the next 100 years of service.

Each year, two million guests look nature in the eye through a visit to Shedd—witnessing a beluga whale surfacing in the Abbott Oceanarium, a coral reef pulsing with life, or a lake sturgeon swimming under their fingers. Millions more connect through school partnerships, conservation action programs, digital storytelling and civic engagement efforts. With this new platform, Shedd is aligning those experiences and initiatives under a single narrative, designed to deepen public connection, strengthen community relationships and accelerate conservation impact as the institution enters its second century.

“’For Love of Waterkind’ centers what has always been true at Shedd,” said Christine White, senior vice president of external affairs and marketing. “Animals are why people walk through our doors. They are also why we fund research, work together to restore rivers, advocate for freshwater policy and bring environmental science learning into classrooms. Connection is what turns curiosity into action.”

The prepositional platform is part marketing campaign and part public service announcement. While the public may see it across online advertisements and billboards, encouraging a visit to the aquarium is only one of the many actions it will encourage. Future advocacy campaigns, conservation programs and other urgent nature-focused initiatives will also carry this signature phrase.

For Shedd, “waterkind” goes far beyond the animals that live beneath the surface. More broadly, the word reflects the interconnected community sustained by water, a recognition that aquatic life and human life are inseparable, and that protecting one requires protecting the other.

Water sustains every community, yet access to nature and the benefits it provides are not equally shared. Wetlands and freshwater habitats have declined dramatically across the United States, and a recent analysis from the Center for American Progress found that communities of color represent 74 percent of Americans living in areas considered “nature deprived.”

This reality underscores the urgency of connection, ensuring that every neighborhood, every classroom and every family has meaningful access to aquatic life and the opportunity to help protect it.

While Shedd’s work is anchored in Chicago, it spans continents. Its conservationists are helping restore the Chicago River and advance freshwater policy across the Great Lakes region. Researchers partner to protect coral reefs off the Florida coast, repopulate zebra sharks in Indonesia and study Magellanic penguin populations in Patagonia. Educators bring nature-based science learning directly into Chicago Public Schools, while community conservation initiatives engage residents in habitat restoration and environmental action. This new platform helps elevate all that Shedd encompasses.

“Shedd’s vision is a world thriving with aquatic life, sustained by those who love, understand and protect it,” said White. “This platform zeroes in on that love to form a mantra for what all our work is in service to. Because at the end of the day, we are all waterkind.”

The aquarium believes the platform will help remind the public of their innate fascination and appreciation of the natural world. Through love of all things aquatic, Shedd believes there is an opportunity to inspire hope and motivate actions that will protect our planet, which is challenged by human activity and a changing climate.

To learn more about “For Love of Waterkind,” you can visit Shedd’s website here: https://www.sheddaquarium.org/for-love-of-waterkind

VISUALS: High-resolution photos and videos of the brand platform are available to view and download here:

https://personal.filesanywhere.com/guest/fs?v=8e7163885e6476786ba8&C=50

Photo credit: ©Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez

Video credit: ©Shedd Aquarium/Samuel RC Elia