Asleep with the Fishes FAQs

For safety reasons, our website does not permit a child’s ticket to be purchased without an adult ticket also being purchased. To purchase a ticket for a child who will be attending with another adult, please call (312) 939-2438 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven days a week to make payment. We will require contact information for the parent/guardian to ensure that every family has the information they need for a successful visit.

Yes. Once you have purchased your tickets, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to a survey where you can indicate if you are joining a group or other families at the event. We will use this information to assign all parties in your group to the same sleeping area. After purchasing your tickets, complete the survey here.

Yes. Please complete the participant survey to enable us to assign your sleeping area near others in your party who have purchased their tickets separately.

Shedd Aquarium reserves the right to cancel the event at any time. If your event is canceled, you will be notified by phone, and a full refund will be made within 30 days.

No refunds will be issued unless Shedd Aquarium cancels the program. Shedd Aquarium reserves the right to cancel the event for any reason. If your event is cancelled, you will be informed via phone as soon as possible. In the event of a cancellation, you will be fully refunded within 30 days. Your refund method will be based on your original method of payment.

We offer a price reduction for Shedd Aquarium members. Your member discount will be applied at the time of purchase.

Participants must be at least 5 years old to stay overnight. Participants 4 and younger are invited attend with an evening-only ticket and attend the event until 11pm. Please note that activities are geared for children ages 5 to 12 years. You purchase tickets for all the people who will be attending.

We require at least one child between the ages of 5 and 12 to attend for every three adults in your party. Please contact us if you have a request for an exception.

We strictly require one adult to attend for every five children. A child is anyone 0-17 years old. An adult is anyone 18 years or older.

Adults with children ages 4 and younger are invited to stay for the evening-only portion of the event at the evening-only ticket rate.

Doors open for check-in at 6 p.m. Guests who arrive early will not be able to wait inside the aquarium.

Check-in is from 6–8 p.m. If you will be arriving after 8 p.m., please call aquarium security at 312-692-3308. Let them know you are a program participant, and they will contact event staff so that you can be accommodated to the best of our ability.

For the overnight events, there are two parking lots available: the lot between the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium lot. Parking is around $25, cash only, and subject to change at any time. Shedd Aquarium does not own the parking lots and does not control the cost.

We have arranged to have the lots open starting at 5 p.m. You can park your car before the event begins, but there is no guarantee that you will be let into the aquarium before the 6 p.m. event start time.

Your parking payment gives you access to the parking lot Saturday morning. After 12 p.m. on Saturday, the lot may charge you a $45 fee, give you a ticket, or tow your car. Please move your car and re-enter the lot if you plan to stay past 12 p.m. on Saturday. Street parking on the Museum Campus is not permitted past 11 p.m.  

Guests can drive into Shedd’s bus turnaround, where they will be greeted by aquarium staff members and volunteers. Here, they can unload any sleeping gear and enter through the registered group entrance (up the ramp behind the bus turnaround). Drivers should then park their cars in the appropriate lot. Check-in occurs in the south lobby/group entrance. Please note: Guests are responsible for transporting their gear during their time at Shedd. Please do not pack more than your party can carry.

Guests are welcome to depart at any time. All doors, except at the Kovler Hall main entrance, are locked throughout the event. Guests who leave will not be able to re-enter the building unless they enter through the Kovler Hall main entrance. Security staff members will be stationed at the main entrance to ensure only event guests enter. Please inform an event staff member if you or a guest needs to leave the event and return at a later time.

Please note that dinner is not included with your ticket. Guests may purchase food from the Bubblenet Café during the event or have dinner before entering. Outside food is not permitted unless arranged ahead of time. Breakfast and a late-night snack are included for guests who spend the night. A sample menu is included below. Breakfast is continental-style with mini bagels and muffins, choices of cold cereals and fresh fruit. Coffee, milk and juice are also served with breakfast.

We try our best to accommodate food allergies, but we are not always able to do so. If you have concerns about any allergy during the event, please email us at [email protected]m.org with a list of food allergies. We will do our best to accommodate your needs, but will contact you if there are any issues.

Beverages included in the program price are provided at dinner, bedtime snack and breakfast. Water fountains and water bottle-filling station are available in the aquarium for your use at any time. Bottled beverage products are available from on-site vending machines at your own cost while supplies last. We encourage you to bring your own reusable water bottle to refill as an alternative to purchasing bottled water.

Outside food and beverages are not allowed during the event. Snacks and breakfast are included in the price of each ticket. Dinner, snacks and drinks will be available to purchase for some of the evening. If you are concerned about the menu for medical or allergy reasons, please contact [email protected].

Alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited with no exceptions. If anyone in your group is found with alcohol, the entire group will be escorted off the premises.

All the exhibits, including the Abbott Oceanarium, Wild Reef, Waters of the World and Amazon Rising, will be open for specific periods of time during the event. Some exhibits do close for animal care and safety during the event. These times are marked on the itinerary guests receive upon checking in. Guests have the option of staying the following day, after an overnight, to view the exhibits if they would like to spend more time with the animals.

Guests are free to explore any of the open exhibit spaces throughout the event. We also have scheduled activities to enjoy throughout the evening. Here is a tentative itinerary for an overnight event:

6-8 p.m. Check-in, dinner and time to explore the Abbott Oceanarium

7:30 p.m. Event orientation and aquatic presentation

8-9:30 p.m. Planned activities in the aquarium galleries, explore the Wild Reef

8:15-9:15 p.m. Movies in Phelps Auditorium

9:30 p.m. Caribbean Reef dive presentation

10 p.m. Sleeping space setup, late-night snack, movie and game room activities

11 p.m. Lights out!

6:30 a.m. Wake-up, time to explore aquarium galleries

7-8:30 a.m. Breakfast

7:30 a.m. Time to explore the Abbott Oceanarium

8 a.m. Time to explore Wild Reef

8:30 a.m. Departure

During the event, there is a guest orientation and aquatic presentation. The animals that are part of the presentation are on a rotating schedule, so each show is different. This presentation begins after the event orientation, around 7:40 p.m. This is the only aquatic presentation scheduled for the event. Guests will not be able to attend an additional aquatic presentation the following day.

We currently show a rotation of Shedd’s 4-D movies from 8:15-9:15 p.m. At 9:30 p.m. we show a series of videos about animals at Shedd.

Scouts can participate in an optional scouting adventure during Asleep with the Fishes Overnights! These self-guided activity sheets help scouts get the most out of their aquarium visit by guiding them through animal observations, prompting conversations with experts, and encouraging deeper exploration of the natural world. Activities are available for Daisy, Brownie, Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts and Tiger, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos Cub Scouts.

Guests will sleep in the aquarium galleries (also called the Waters of the World exhibits), and VIP sleeping areas include the Caribbean Reef exhibit, Wild Reef exhibit, and Oceanarium underwater viewing for select events. To ensure that there is enough space for each family and group, we assign sleeping spaces based on the number of guests. Aquarium staff members will inspect sleeping bag arrangements and might ask you to adjust your gear or location to maintain state-required emergency exit corridors. We try to accommodate groups that want to sleep in the same area, but please note that other guests or groups may also be sleeping in the same area as your group.

Guests who are not sleeping in VIP areas may not bring air mattresses. Guests are encouraged to bring camping pads, inflatable pool mats, or small camp cots for comfort. Guests who purchase VIP tickets are permitted to bring one twin-sized air mattress per one or more people OR one queen-sized air mattress per two or more people. These restrictions allow all guests to have the best overnight experience possible. 

Tents are strictly forbidden during your Overnight Adventure due to fire safety hazards.

We turn off all unnecessary lights at 11 p.m. For animal and human safety, some lights will remain on during the night. Lights in the Oceanarium VIP area turn on at 6 a.m. If you require complete darkness to sleep comfortably, consider bringing an eye mask.

Because we have animal residents from around the world, temperatures vary from one sleeping area to another. Dressing in layers will help ensure a comfortable sleeping temperature for you and your group.

We recommend bringing ear plugs just in case our animals or other guests make noise during the night.

Flashlights and flash photography are not permitted due to the safety and health of our animals. Bright lights and flashes can cause stress in many of our animals, and animal safety is a top priority at Shedd Aquarium. Flashlights may be used by staff members for guest and aquarium safety reasons if necessary.

Electrical outlets are available in some sleeping areas. If you need an outlet throughout the night for medical equipment, please contact us at [email protected].

Shedd Aquarium gift stores will be open on the Saturday morning of the event and sell overnight themed T-shirts and patches.

Children may not be left unattended during the event. We ask that one adult be present for every five children. For example, if you have 22 children in your group, you will need to have at least five adults attend the event.

We view your safety as one of our top priorities. We have security staff members on duty 24 hours a day. Event staff will also stay overnight. We will be available to assist you at any hour. All bags will be checked by security upon entry to the overnight.

The aquarium has staff trained in first-aid, CPR, and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). The building is also equipped with fire alarms and extinguishers. We have evacuation plans in place should it become necessary to leave the aquarium for any reason. If you need help at any time during the event, please contact the nearest staff member and we will assist you.

We utilize staff members and trained volunteers stationed throughout the aquarium to help you enjoy your time during the event and to address any issues that arise. We adjust our staffing levels as necessary.

Shedd Aquarium is easily accessed by public transportation. For all transit information, go to http://www.yourcta.com/ or call 312-836-7000.

The Museum Campus (where Shedd Aquarium is located) is served year-round by the CTA's #146 bus. Service hours are until 10:30 p.m. every day.

From State Street downtown, North Michigan Avenue or the North Side of Chicago:

Board the southbound CTA bus #146 Marine-Michigan to the Museum Campus (daily) or board the Red or Orange Line CTA train toward the Loop and exit at the Roosevelt Road/Museum Campus station, where you can transfer to the #146 Museum Campus bus.

From O'Hare Airport:

Board the Blue Line CTA train and exit at Washington, where you can board the southbound #146 bus on State Street.

From the South Side of Chicago or from Midway Airport:

Board CTA bus #6 Jeffery Express (daily) and exit across from the Museum Campus or board the Orange Line CTA train toward the Loop and exit at the Roosevelt Road/Museum Campus station, where you can transfer to the #146 Museum Campus bus.

We cannot guarantee that this event will be a nut-free zone.

Electrical outlets are available in some sleeping areas. If you need an outlet throughout the night for medical equipment, please contact us at [email protected].

For your safety, shoes or rubber-soled slippers must be worn while guests move around the building.

In keeping with Shedd Aquarium’s intent to provide a safe and healthful work environment and in compliance with the Chicago Clean Indoor Air Ordinance of 2005, smoking in the building and within 15 feet of all public entrances is prohibited. Guests can exit and enter through the Kovler Hall main entrance doors at any time during the night, as those doors will remain unlocked and guarded by security.

You can purchase tickets online here. You can purchase tickets online here. If you are purchasing more than 10 adult tickets and/or 10 child tickets, please call (312) 939-2438 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven days a week. Along with your name, phone number, email and address, please be prepared to give us your method of payment.

Yes, admission to the aquarium on Saturday is included in the overnight package.

Your parking payment gives you access to the parking lot until 9 a.m. Saturday morning. After 9 a.m., the lot may charge you for an additional day of parking, give you a ticket, or tow your car.

On Saturday morning, guests will bring gear down to the group reception center for storage while they eat breakfast and explore the aquarium. Standard-sized paid lockers are available to guests for use after 8:30 a.m.

• Bring a reusable water bottle or mug.
• Bring your gear in a reusable bag.
• Borrow a camping pad, sleeping bag, or other gear from a friend rather than purchasing it new.
• Carpool or take public transportation to the aquarium.
• Use the recycling bins placed throughout the aquarium.

When you arrive, an aquarium guide will greet you and lead you to your sleeping space. Your group will drop off gear in your sleeping space and then proceed to dinner. You will be able to set up your sleeping gear starting at 10 p.m.

You can purchase tickets online here. Shedd Aquarium does not reserve blocks of tickets for groups or families attending together. Groups or multiple families attending together are encouraged to purchase tickets individually in non-VIP sleeping areas. VIP sleeping space is limited – call ahead if you are considering a VIP sleeping space for your group. Each parent/guardian with the group must purchase tickets for their family and compete the participant survey. If you have questions about capacity for your group on a given date, please email us at [email protected] or call 312-939-2438 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven days a week.