Centennial Commitment

In 2022, Shedd Aquarium announced a Centennial Commitment — a promise to accelerate access and connection to nature for all, and to accomplish this ahead of our 100th anniversary in 2030. This bold, energetic, and transformational Strategic Plan will amplify connections between people and communities and to the aquatic world.

Today, we are diving deeper than ever before to ensure the next 100 years include a world where resilient ecosystems and resilient communities thrive together, and aquatic life is sustained by people who love, understand and protect it.

The Centennial Commitment will inspire the next generation of advocates and leaders whose compassion, curiosity and conservation action will ensure a sustainable and thriving future for people, for communities, and for aquatic life. The wide-ranging vision includes:

• Deeper community investments and partnerships that not only bring the aquarium further into Chicago neighborhoods, but also bring neighborhood-level environmental discussions and solutions into new, expansive, dedicated community spaces within Shedd’s walls.

• A modernized aquarium experience through the transformation and restoration of the historic galleries and dynamic new exhibits that provide greater and more accessible entry points to see and connect with aquatic life as a springboard to inquiry and nature exploration.

• New educational and experiential programs created with equity and inclusion at the center that deepen science learning, increase environmental literacy and empower futures for youth.

• Compelling digital engagements that bring animals and conservation action programs from the aquarium into more hands and homes everywhere.

• Advancements in exemplary animal care and welfare for the thousands of animals in our care and to increase Shedd’s capacity to respond to more wildlife in crisis; and

• Accelerated aquatic research and science to address the largest threats to biodiversity and species extinction.

Learn more about our bold surge forward here .