Endangered Species Have Their Day

May 17 is Endangered Species Day. But we live among threatened and endangered plant and animal species every day. You might see them during a bird walk on the lakefront or on a hike through the Cook County forest preserves. You will see them swimming in Shedd’s exhibits and even growing in our gardens.

April Fish of the Month: U.S. Pacific Cod

Choosing to eat sustainably can have a positive impact on the health of our oceans and lakes, which is why  Shedd’s Right Bite team highlights a sustainable seafood option every month. April’s Fish of the Month is U.S. Pacific cod.

February Fish of the Month: U.S.-Farmed Mussels

Your seafood choices can have a big impact on the health of our oceans and lakes—so make sure they’re positive ones! Every month, Shedd’s Right Bite team highlights a sustainable seafood option that’s  good for you and good for our planet. The Fish of the Month for February is farmed mussels.

Happy Birthday to Shedd on Founders Day

Eighty-nine years ago today, 12 civic movers and shakers met in the office of Chicago’s premier architectural firm, Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, on the 14th floor of the Railway Exchange Building (later the Santa Fe Building and today Motorola) on Michigan Avenue. There they incorporated the not-for-profit Shedd Aquarium Society.

Through Great Partners, Shedd Drives Energy Innovation

When Shedd Aquarium opened its doors in 1930, energy goals were much different from today’s green initiatives. Take, for example, the four beautiful chandeliers hanging in the main foyer. They are illuminated by a whopping 600 bulbs, a design that showed off the new age of electric lighting—when an opulent display of bulbs was a measure of success.

December Fish of the Month: Farmed Scallops

Your seafood choices can have a big impact on the health of our oceans and lakes—so make sure they’re positive ones! Every month, Shedd’s Right Bite team highlights a sustainable seafood item as our Fish of the Month. December’s pick is farmed scallops, and we have an elegant holiday starter dish, seared scallops with braised fennel, apple and leeks.

Shedd Taps Local Brewer with Surprise Crop

Shedd’s award-winning gardens provide floral nectar to butterflies, a lakefront haven to migratory birds, leafy greens to our resident reptiles, fragrant herbs to our food service and boxes of fruits and vegetables to local food pantries.

Now they’ll also quench your thirst.

November Fish of the Month: Yellow Perch Chowder

Your seafood choices can have a big impact on the health of our oceans and lakes—so make sure they’re positive ones! Every month, Shedd’s Right Bite team highlights a sustainable seafood item as our Fish of the Month. November’s pick is yellow perch, and we have a comfort recipe for chilly nights: yellow perch chowder.

October Fish of the Month: U.S.-Farmed Tilapia

Your seafood choices can have a big impact on the health of our oceans and lakes—so make sure they’re positive ones! Every month, Shedd’s Right Bite team highlights a sustainable seafood item as our Fish of the Month. October’s pick is U.S.-farmed tilapia, and Chef Cleetus Friedman of City Provisions has a recipe for pan-seared tilapia with “Cleetus Heatus” peach salsa!

Hot Times in the Kankakee River

It was hot. Of course, the entire summer had been hot, and there had been little rain. Rivers and ponds were drying up, water levels dropping. This was the case with the Kankakee River as we stepped up to the bank. The river was at least a couple feet lower than normal for this time of year—but we expected that, and it was one reason why we, a team of Shedd Aquarium fish biologists, were at a point on the river an hour south of Chicago, near the Illinois-Indiana state line. We were conducting a survey to see if the warm summer had impacted the fish community.