Science & Nature
Shedd Aquarium’s New ‘Wonder of Water’ Exhibit Makes Dazzling First Impression, But There’s Much More Going on Below the Surface
For only the third time in its nearly 100-year history, Shedd Aquarium is unveiling a new exhibit in its grand rotunda, a cathedral-like space that’s been the first stop for most aquarium visitors since 1930.
Gone is the “Caribbean Reef,” a much-loved exhibit that, since its debut in the 1970s, had come to define a Shedd experience for multiple generations. Though wildly popular with visitors, the reef was beginning to show its age, lagging behind ever-evolving standards in design and technology, as well as animal care.
In its place, opening to the public on Tuesday, is “Wonder of Water,” nicknamed “WOW” by staff, said Sarah Aman, senior exhibit designer at the aquarium.
And “wow” is definitely the hoped-for response. “It’s such a more magical experience now,” Aman said.
Shedd Aquarium’s new “Wonder of Water” exhibit will greet visitors in the building’s grand rotunda. It highlights the equal importance of saltwater, left, and freshwater ecosystems. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
On entering the room, visitors will be surrounded, aurally, by a mesmerizing Zen-like soundscape, but it’s the exhibit’s stunning visual focal point that will immediately grab a guest’s attention.
A pair of shimmering tanks — identically sized, each holding 28,110 gallons of water; one glowing blue, the other green — dominate the center of the rotunda. Positioned opposite each other, the tanks are united under a luminous fish scale “crown” that draws on symbolism found throughout the aquarium.
One tank replicates a saltwater ecosystem, home to corals, anemones and 1,500 fish, among other animals. The second tank mimics a freshwater environment, full of 5,000 fish and some 50 species of aquatic plants.
The twinning is intentional, and not just because it makes for a dazzling first impression.
In placing freshwater on an equal footing with saltwater, “Wonder of Water” represents a duality that’s always been part of Shedd’s DNA, even if it hasn’t always been evident to visitors.
Freshwater fish occupy some of the aquarium’s oldest, most historic galleries, but “quite frankly aren’t displayed in as engaging a way” as their saltwater counterparts in newer spaces, Aman said.
The new presentation levels the field for freshwater in spectacular fashion. If life below the surface of the planet’s rivers and lakes — including the Great Lake on whose shore the Shedd was built — is often obscured by murky water, here in the rotunda, the view is crystal clear.
“I’ve had staff members come in here and tell me, ‘Oh my gosh, I almost cried when I saw this exhibit because I’ve never seen us display freshwater fish like this,’” Aman said.
Video: A glimpse of “Wonder of Water” at Shedd Aquarium.
Both tanks have been outfitted with state-of-the art lighting and high-tech filtration and life support systems — advances in technology that have allowed the Shedd to design living exhibits at a scale seldom, if ever, attempted.
Yes, living in every sense. Those corals and plants are the real deal, having been carefully grown, nurtured and planted by Shedd aquarists.
“You see these two complete holistic habitats, and they look like they were just plucked out of a corner of the ocean or out of a stream,” said Sarah Hezel, vice president for design and exhibits.
In truth, years of thoughtful planning went into developing these remarkably realistic ecosystems, with attention to minute detail required to create the illusion of a natural, wild environment.
“Sometimes I have to do a meeting or a walk-through — we’re supposed to be inspecting something, and I just stop and stare at the fish and the plants. Everybody does it. Meetings that should last 15 minutes last an hour,” said Sarah Aman. “One of my favorite things is just watching the dynamics. You start to pick up on the different relationships that are happening.” Like the classic duo of clown fish and anemone, seen in Wonder of Water's saltwater tank. (Brenna Hernandez / Shedd Aquarium)
How do you “plant” an underwater exhibit?
You strap on the scuba-diving gear and get to work.
It took aquarists 27 hours over two weeks to position corals and anemones in the saltwater tank, and divers spent another eight hours over four days aquascaping the freshwater exhibit. Each tank posed its own set of challenges.
The corals — including soft and stony varieties — and anemones were introduced in phases because species occupy different niches in the ecosystem and need time to adjust, said Noel Heinsohn, one of the aquarists assigned to tend the saltwater exhibit.
Because this is a display as much as a habitat, a certain amount of artistic flair also came into play.
“There were a few moments when we were placing all these corals over many, many scuba dives, where we’d get out and we’d go, ‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’” recalled aquarist Brendan Wylie. “Like, ‘There’s a lot of green right there, let’s move some greens, put some reds in there to break it up, make it look a little more natural.’”
On the freshwater side, aquarist Stacy Wozniak’s approach to aquascaping was similar to the way he plans his home garden. Small plants went in the foreground and taller ones in the back; shade-loving plants were tucked under a massive log that serves as the tank’s main set piece; and he also adhered to the “rule of threes” — clustering species in triplicate.
Where the saltwater team had five years to cultivate their corals, Wozniak received most of his starter plants at the beginning of the year. Many of them were just inches tall, initially placed in shallow water, with Wozniak gradually increasing the depth.
“As we brought the water level up, the plants matched the water level and just kept growing, growing, growing,” Wozniak said. “So when we were ready to put them in this space they were already 7-, 8-feet tall and ready to fill every part of the exhibit.”
Even with all this deliberation, there were still surprises, which is the beauty of living exhibits. They change every day. The anemone move around their rock island, plants unexpectedly flower.
“No two visits are going to be the same,” Hezel said. “As robust and beautiful and stunning as it is, these are all living animals that will continue to grow, and adapt to each other and continue to become an even more impressive habitat.”
Freshwater ecosystems are often obscured below murky water. “Wonder of Water” offers a crystal clear view of the relationships between fish and plants that typically exist out of sight. Here a school of moonlit gourami explore their new habitat. (Brenna Hernandez / Shedd Aquarium)
Then came the fish.
“We like to fill spaces, and different species fill different spaces in the habitat,” said Wylie. “So we have top dwelling fish on each side, and then we have a lot that sort of zoom around the tank, and then we have some that perch and hide along the rocks.”
Reef fish are famously territorial, Heinsohn said, which, again, required a phased move-in for the saltwater tank.
“It probably took a span of three months. There’s a lot of social dynamics with reef fishes so we really had to phase the dynamics between species,” he said. “We started with a lot of the algae eaters, let them get established because they have a lot more territory, then started phasing in schooling fishes. The schooling fishes we did in waves to make sure they were socially working.”
By contrast, “freshwater fish are happy together. No problems there,” said aquarist Kim Ralston, who declared the new showcase for freshwater “phenomenal.”
“There’s so many species that live in freshwater ... and I feel like people don’t know that, and we don’t celebrate it enough,” Ralston said. “It is beautiful and you’ve just got to look at it and admire it; admire all the plants, admire all the species ... and really get to know it.”
Though perhaps not as wildly colorful as its saltwater neighbor, the freshwater tank will reward patient viewers, she said
“It might not look very diverse — you’re seeing a lot of silver fish. But when you look really closely you can see the amazing color in each one of them,” said Ralston, whether it’s the red tail of the shark minnow or the iridescence of the moonlit gourami.
One of Wozniak’s favorites — the sparkling gourami — is known for its blue eyes. It hangs out at the bottom of the tank, perfect for Shedd’s youngest visitors.
“Little kids will notice a lot of the tiny things that I geek out about,” he said, “because it’s right down at their eye level.”
Brass fixtures — like the exhibit’s fully functional periscopes, which offer a look at live camera feeds inside the tanks — are a nod to Shedd’s history in an otherwise contemporary exhibit. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
A visit to the Shedd can be as simple as looking at cool fish. Or, it can be as complex as gaining knowledge of various aquatic ecosystems, their inhabitants, the threats they face and the research being undertaken to better understand conservation needs.
“Wonder of Water” was designed with people on both ends of that spectrum in mind, and all points in between, Aman said.
“This space, this is about awe,” she said. “And we should never underestimate the power of awe, because that opens up people’s minds to new information. It opens up their hearts. That sounds so cheesy but it’s true. If somebody walks into the building not knowing anything about aquatic species, and they walk out thinking, ‘Wow, I never knew what was below the surface of the river or the lake or the ocean, and now I care a little bit more about that,’ then we’re doing something right.”
Aman knows that swapping out Caribbean Reef was not a popular choice with some of Shedd’s hardcore fans. (Fear not, the reef is getting a makeover and will return in a later phase of Shedd’s ongoing capital project. The animals are getting a “better home,” Aman said.)
But she hopes the results will win over even the most stubborn critic.
“I think they’re going to walk into this space and be like, ‘Oh, I get it. This is pretty great, this is awesome,’” Aman said. “And now this gets to be the place for future generations, that kids will remember seeing and want to bring their families back.”
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
