(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A massive new addition to the Shedd aquarium's rotunda is making a splash.
In the entrance of the Shedd Aquarium you'll be greeted with two new towering habitats in the historic rotunda.
“You walk into this space and you see these massive volumes of water,” said Sarah Heezel, vice president of design and exhibits at Shedd Aquarium.
“One, as you said is predominantly blue, the other is predominantly green. One is warmer, one is cooler in tones, they're moving in different ways. The other more with the shades of green and these silver fish moving and darting and finding their habitats amongst those leaves.”
Heezel said the new Wonder of Water has been in the making for around seven years. Each contains 28,000 gallons of water and thousands of species of fish and plants. One is a salt water habitat, one a fresh water habitat.
“There are 5,000 fish in the freshwater habitat and 1,500 in the salt water. The freshwater habitat has 50 different species of plants alone.”
The planted freshwater exhibit is one of the largest in the world and is part of the Century in the Making reconstruction project as the Shedd celebrates 100 years in 2030.
The new exhibit is not only a way to connect patrons to nature but to conservation.
“We have an opportunity in this exhibit to inspire first and foremost, to spark that sense of wonder and awe at all of the aquatic world.”
The new exhibit replaces the old Caribbean reef, that had been at the entrance since the 1970s.
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