Shedd's Oceanarium to close for maintenance

In what is being described as preventative maintenance, Chicago's Shedd Aquarium will close its Oceanarium section for nine months to reseal the surfaces of pools housing its whales, dolphins and sea otters.

The animals will be shipped to facilities around the country so the aquarium can empty the pools of their 3 million gallons of saltwater for the project.

When the section closes September 2, the Shedd will use the next nine months to make a number of structural updates at a cost of $50 million. Among the changes will be the consolidation of the aquarium's offices on the Oceanarium's roof and the expansion of two restaurants.

The office consolidation will free up 20,000 square feet in the Oceanarium for a planned Great Lakes exhibit area.

The 170,000-square-foot Oceanarium was opened in April 1991.