The Adventures of Team Parker

We’ve had a hectically eventful weekend which I’ll post more on tomorrow but for now let me make a few notes on my visit to the Shedd Aquarium here in Chicago.

I went to the aquarium last week. It was one of the things I’ve been wanting to do, that Sameer doesn’t really want to do. As I have a lot more free time than him, I went alone. I was a bit worried about how I would get there, but Google Maps and the Chicago Transit Authority came to my rescue. I just had to enter my start and end points and voila — trip plan all sorted out. Walk one block over and catch the Jefferey Express bus, get off at the Museum Campus where the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium are clustered together.

When I got to the ticket desk I was asked for my zip code and ID. It turns out that Chicago residents get 25% off the ticket price. This was a huge and unexpected saving that I was quite happy to find out about.

The first exhibit that I went through was unlike anything I’d seen before. A series of tanks mimics the changing water level of an Amazonian floodplain. The plant and animal life change accordingly. It was fascinating to walk from window to window looking at the rising water levels, the different texture in the water, new types of plants, and larger and larger fish, turtles, toads and bugs. I would have lingered even longer if the area had not been uncomfortably hot.

A school group from a Spanish language junior school happened to be in this area at the same time as me and I found it very interesting the way the cry of “Teacher, teacher, teacher!!!” (and in some instances “Maestro, maestro!”) crosses continents, cultures and language barriers. Positively adorable.

Next up was the Wild Reef which had all sorts of sharks and rays. This was not so exciting for me as it was very similar to the shark tank at the Two Oceans Aquarium and Ushaka in Durban.

Then I went off to the Caribbean Reef. This circular tank is situated in a round room with a stained glass ceiling. The area serves as a hub for adjoining rooms which contain various types of river fish, seahorses, turtles, lizards, arachnids and so forth.

I was lucky enough to be in the area when a diver came down to feed the fish. While this was going on, another aquarium staff member came by with a microphone to ask audience members questions which she passed on to the diver (who had a microphone inside her mask) and together they pointed out interesting creatures and behaviors that we could see happening in the tank. It was a brief but informative session.

Shortly afterwards, I spotted the same staff member holding a talk on tarantulas. It was really interesting to see how she changed the pitch of her voice, the way she spoke to the (much younger) audience, and the level of detail in the information she provided. Although I was the only adult there without a pre-K in tow, I was enthralled enough to stick around for a good 10 minutes.

Other interesting things I saw:

Nickel the sea turtle. She’d been rescued from the ocean after being badly injured by the propeller on a speedboat and found bleeding and starving offshore. She still can’t use her hind legs but she’s learned to get around in the Caribbean Reef and is thriving at the aquarium. When she came to the aquarium and had her initial medical, they found a nickel lodged in her throat so that’s what they named her.

Grandad, an old river fish (exact species, I cannot remember). He’s been at the Shedd Aquarium since 1933! He’s older than my dad!

Funny looking seahorses, 1 and 2.

And Nemo and Dory. (“Where do you live?” — “Amenome! Monemenome! An anemone!” — “Don’t hurt yourself kid…”)

And finally, the reason I went to the aquarium in the first place. The Beluga whales. I could have stood by that pool for hours just watching them. Words can’t explain it so here is a video. (The white ones are adults, the gray ones are babies.)

(Incidentally, one of my favorite things about this video is the “ginormous” exchange I caught between the little kids off camera.)

I had a great time at the aquarium and I’d certainly recommend it to anyone with kids or some time on their hands.

Of course, since going there, I’ve been reading more about whales and aquariums online and now I’m having issues about the ethics involved in keeping large mammals such as these in captivity, though this is not directed at the Shedd Aquarium per se but about aquariums and water parks such as SeaWorld, which don’t have the best reputation when it comes to acquiring and caring for whales.