Shedd Aquarium — Chicago, Illinois

Address1200 S DuSable Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60605

HoursOpen daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. in fall/winter 2026, with later evening hours on select dates (official site; hours vary by season)

PricesPlan-ahead priced general admission, varies by date · Chicago residents $19.95 every day

Price notesNon-resident adult and child prices are date-based and not published as a fixed rate, so priceVal is null. Museums for All discounted admission (rate not published on the aquarium's own page), Illinois Resident Free Hours and AZA reciprocal terms: see Perks.

Age notesAll ages. Chicago residents pay $19.95 every day (official discounts page).

BookingTimed-entry tickets are sold in advance on the aquarium's site; Illinois-resident free hours can also be reserved by phone.

Suggested timeAbout 3.5 hours

ParkingMuseum Campus and Soldier Field parking garages nearby (paid); rates not confirmed on the aquarium's pages fetched.

AccessibilityPAGE-VERIFIED (Shedd Policies page + Calm Waters page, both read in full in this pass): Policies page states: 'Our exhibits, restrooms and most behind-the-scenes program locations are fully accessible. We offer assistive listening devices and a limited number of wheelchairs and walkers.' Calm Waters page states sound-reducing headphones are available at the information desk and the 4-D Theater for free checkout on a first-come, first-served basis with photo identification, sanitized between uses. This corroborates the earlier plan-a-visit snippet (wheelchairs, assistive listening devices and noise-cancelling headphones at the information desk, first-come first-served); note the terminology variance between Shedd's own pages — plan-a-visit says 'noise-cancelling headphones', the Calm Waters page says 'sound-reducing headphones' — both wordings are retained here, neither smoothed over. The plan-a-visit page itself could not be re-opened in this pass (browser-service 429 on the single attempt), so insiderTips below remains snippet-level.

Sensory notesNEW, PAGE-VERIFIED (Calm Waters page, read in full): Calm Waters is an exclusive event for guests with disabilities and Veterans, with limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration, a low-sensory beluga-rescue chat with ASL interpretation, an animal encounter opportunity and complimentary 4D experiences; 2026 dates listed: Sunday September 13, Sunday October 18, Sunday November 15, 2026; price Adults $39.95 (Chicago resident $19.95), Children (3-11) $29.95 (Chicago resident $14.95), Members free. Visitors with severe disabilities may be accompanied by a paid personal care attendant (PCA); complimentary companion tickets for a paid PCA are requested by phone (312-939-2438) at least one week before the event. Audio descriptive devices for Animal Spotlights are requested via a form linked from the page. Construction warning on the same page: unexpected and sudden noise from cutting, drilling and other work may be audible throughout the building; Shedd recommends bringing noise-cancelling devices if needed.

Verified perk: Museums for AllDiscounted general admission with an EBT card from any U.S. state; limit 4 tickets per order, one EBT card per 4 tickets. The aquarium does not publish the discount rate on its own discounts page.

Verified perk: Illinois Resident Free HoursFree general admission for Illinois residents on published 2026 dates (Jan 6–8, 13–20, 27–29; Feb 3–5, 10–12, 17–19, 24–26) plus free Tuesday evenings 5–9 p.m. in fall. Online reservations carry a $5 fee per order; reservations by phone (312-939-2438) are free.

Verified perk: AZA Reciprocal AdmissionMembers of participating AZA institutions receive 50% off full-price admission for up to 2 guests.

Verified perk: Military and Educator AdmissionActive-duty military receive free general admission; Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin educators receive a free ticket.