Shedd Aquarium - Oceanarium Model

July 2008.

The pool on the left has a number of beluga whales in it, while the huge one on the right is home to dolphins. I've read somewhere before that the Shedd Aquarium has the largest indoor marine mammal pool on the planet, and so that is perhaps still true in 2009.

This looks like model as exhibit is today. I am pretty sure they are getting ready to renovate this section of aquarium.

Yeah, the renovation has already begun, the whales and dolphins have been shipped off to an aquarium out east.

Does anyone have any details on what they are actually doing. I found the website to be rather vague.

Mostly just major maintenance like re-lining the pools (necessary after close to 20 years of operation), and building a major new bank of offices on the roof above the seating area in the Oceanarium. Doesn't sound like any spectacular new exhibits will be added, despite the tens of millions of dollars that will be spent on the project.

Hopefully they will dust off the entirely artificial "conifer forest" that surrounds the public area--last time I visited it looked like someone needed to vacuum the cobwebs and dust in a major way!

The new construction (ontop of the Oceanarium) will supposedly make room elsewhere in the aquarium for new exhibits in the future.

i like the oceanarium, esp the dolphin pool, mabey if the belugas die, the dolphins can move there and orcas go into the current dolphin pool

They have eight beluga whales, one was born in December, so they should definatly not getting rid of the beluga whales and replace them with orcas.