Postcards received today

Today I received 2 postcards from a friend who was in Chicago over the 4th of July. The first one was of the Navy Pier. A hardy welcome from Patch, the official mascot of Navy Pier. The pier was temporarily used as a military facility during World War 1. The pier now showcases a collection of restaurants, shops and exhibition facilities.

The next postcard that I received was a Did you know one from the John G. Shedd Aquarium. John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, opened in 1929, is the 2nd largest indoor aquarium in the world, with 5 million gallons of water and 20,000 fish. The aquarium gets 2 million annual visits and contains 8,000 animals of 650 species including Beluga whales, sea otters, and dolphins. In 1933, Chicago hosted its second World's Fair, during which a Queensland Lungfish known as "Grandpa" was added to it's collection. Still alive, Grandpa is thought to be the oldest fish in a public aquarium.  In 1971, Shedd Aquarium added one of its most popular exhibits, a massive 90,000-gallon tank reproducting a Caribbean coral reef.  The equally popular "Wild Reef" shark tank, opened in 2003, contains 400,000 gallons of water and attempts to recreate a Philippine coral reef based on the Apo Island Marine Reserve.