Shedd Aquarium Invests $500M For Reimagined Experience, Education

CHICAGO — The Shedd Aquarium is planning to create a reimagined experience for patrons with a $500 million investment that will not only connect visitors more with exhibits but will also help fund educational programs offered by the Chicago attraction.

Aquarium officials announced the eight-year Centennial Commitment, which will coincide with Shedd’s 100-year anniversary in 2030. The project will devote half of funds to creating more interactive exhibits that will create a new user experience for visitors starting in 2026, officials said.

But the initiative also plans to go toward learning programs while also providing funding for aquarium researchers to fight climate change and the loss of biodiversity, officials announced on Monday.

“We know that when people experience animals up close, it motivates an emotional, empathetic response that has the power to shift attitudes and foster stewardship of local waters, global oceans, and wildlife,” Shedd Aquarium President and CEO Bridget Coughlin said in a news release. “In an age of increased urbanization, and as a national resource for aquatic conservation and education, we have a deep responsibility and obligation to help close the nature deficit gap.”

The project, officials said, is aimed at ensuring a more equitable, sustainable and thriving future for people and aquatic life, officials said Monday in a news release.

More than half of the $500 million investment will be devoted to Shedd programs and partnerships needed to achieve the aquarium’s Centennial Commitment’s aspirations. These programs will not only be onsite, officials said, but also expand outside of the aquarium walls into communities, on the water and in nature, in virtual experiences and informal learning engagements, and through new and expanded onsite and field-based research and science portfolios centered on restoration, rewilding, and rescue.

The remaining investment will focus on needed physical improvements to the historic building that will modernize the aquarium galleries and experience, enable greater accessibility, enhance animal habitats, and restore architectural features such as the opening of original windows that provide views of the city skyline and Lake Michigan, and the creation of more unobstructed public access to the aquarium's original exterior promenade and garden spaces, the news release said.

Shedd officials said that funding for the project will come from endowments and corporate and community gifts, with 80% available now for on-site restoration, the Chicago Tribune reported on Monday.

“The Shedd is one of Illinois’ great gems, and this new vision for the next 100 years reflects Illinois’ leadership and their partnership in protecting the environment, educating the next generation and serving as an unmatched cultural asset,” Gov. J. B. Pritzker said in a statement issued Monday. “The Shedd’s Centennial Commitment will raise awareness, empathy and the importance of natural spaces and aquatic resources, further cement Illinois’ role as a national leader on climate action, educate and support more students and teachers annually, and bolster our statewide tourism investments to draw guests from all over the world.”