newport aquarium or Shedd aquarium

[pws]

I want to goto one of these this weekend from ohio. One is a 4 hour drive and one is a 3 hour drive. Which one is better? Or is there a better on closer to cleveland? Let me know what you think. Thanks

 

[emerald chondro]

I've never been to Shedd but Newport is really nice

 

[hypermikie]

I have been to both in the past 2 years... Shedd at the beggining of July and Newport a year and Half ago.

In my opinion I would go back to Shedd given a choice between the two. Newport is an excellent aquarium and definately a worth while trip, but Shedd was bigger and better to me.

I think Shedd has a lot more Reef related displays. Shedd has more variety as well with the Oceanarium (dolphins, whales, sea lions etc.), and a large reptile display.

I posted a thread to share some pics of my Shedd trip, this is just a very small portion of the aquarium:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1154068

 

[Andrew]

Put it this way... I've seen better fish tanks at a fish store than at Newport. Shedds beats Newport without a doubt.

 

[Grouperhead]

I've been to a lot of the big US aquariums, and Shedd is one of, if not the best I've been to. Haven't been to Newport, but I promise that Shedd won't dissapoint.

 

[reefnut2790]

living in cincy and having the newpot Aq. close is nice but hands down given almost equal driving time im at the Shedd. Ps went to the atalanta Aq. earlier in the year. must say WoW they have nice setup to =-)

 

[davidryder]

Agreed - you won't see much at Newport Aquarium. They touch lightly on different parts of the ocean but Shedd has sooo much more!!!

 

[Hormigaquatica]

Shedd, hands down.
The shark tank at Newport is impressive, just for sheer size, but most of their displays are very disappointing. No part of the Shedd is a let down!

 

[Peter Eichler]

I would never make the trip solely for either. Now if you want to go and enjoy a city and happen to go to an aquarium Chicago without a doubt. Maybe it's because I've been several times and was a member for years, but to me the Shedd is a good aquarium but nothing great. I also lived in Baltimore for a while so perhaps that makes me a little hard on the Shedd as well.

 

[Bambalam]

I would go to Shedd. We were there a few years ago and it was sweet. I haven't heard many good reviews about Newport, especially from people with their own tanks. JMHO

 

[old salty]

I live 10 minutes from Newport and agree with the statement above about seeing LFS tanks that are in better shape. It is an interesting place and you can learn a lot. The sharks are always cool to stare at; it's just that if you don't know what HLLE is, you will when you leave. The reef display is a large lifeless hunk of fake rock that looks like it's lit with a flashlight. It's not that the place is a dump. If you know what to look for, you'll shake your head at the notion that some of the animals are cared for by scientists.

 

[pws]

I ended up going to newport. Pretty nice area and went to the zoo too with the family. Newport only had 3-5 live soft coral in the whole thing. No hard corals at all. Mostly sharks was the main theme. All the fish ect looked really healthy. Liked the one in the smokies in TN better than the newport one. Next will try the Shedd one in a month or so. Whats the best public one in the whole united states?

 

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10590397#post10590397 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pws
I ended up going to newport. Pretty nice area and went to the zoo too with the family. Newport only had 3-5 live soft coral in the whole thing. No hard corals at all. Mostly sharks was the main theme. All the fish ect looked really healthy. Liked the one in the smokies in TN better than the newport one. Next will try the Shedd one in a month or so. Whats the best public one in the whole united states?

The best I've been to is the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Monterey Bay Aquarium is supposed to be very nice as well.

 

[MTB]

The Shedd is nice aquarium. No display disapoints. All there livestock is very healthy. The coral prop setup they have at the end of the wild reef display is very cool.