Fossils of small reef invertebrates dot the polished limestone floors of Shedd’s foyer and rotunda. Limestone is a sedimentary rock made of calcium carbonate, much of which came from the bodies of prehistoric marine invertebrates such as corals, brachiopods and shelled cephalopods, both the extinct straight ones and the coiled nautiluses that continue virtually unchanged today. Limestone also contains many whole fossil shells and fossil molds of these animals.
Read More , on the Fossils at Your Feet pageAs you watch the sea otters play in the Abbott Oceanarium, how can you tell Yaku from Ellie? What's it like to drop everything and rush to Canada to help rescue a stranded beluga whale? Discover yourself with Shedd's stories and updates, sharing everything from new arrivals to animal rescues across the globe!
Say hi to Calista and Carmen, the two newest additions to our Magellanic penguin colony. The sisters, who hatched in May, spend more and more time in the Polar Play Zone habitat each day, getting to know the other birds. The re...
Sea otters face increasing threats from climate change, and they’re only an oil spill away from widescale disaster. As goes the health of this smallest of marine mammals, so goes the health of one of the most productive marine ...
Each year, Shedd Aquarium lives a commitment to providing opportunities that grant millions of people the chance to look nature in the eye and connect with marvelous and mysterious aquatic animals. Often this starts with one co...
On an Abbott Oceanarium visit, you might see California sea lions Laguna and Cruz zooming around Grainger Sea Lion Cove or, as above, piled up for a nap.
Shedd Aquarium and GATX share a long history in Chicago. Both were founded more than 80 years ago by entrepreneurial Chicago residents. John G. Shedd worked his way up to president of Marshall Field & Company, and Max Epstein w...
About two years ago, Dr. Matt O’Connor, staff veterinarian, saw an opportunity for Shedd to get involved in the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s head-start program to restore local populations of Blanding’s turtles (...