The Stingray Touch experience at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is now open for the 2025 season! The tented outdoor exhibit opens to the general public today: Wednesday, May 7, 2025. This wonderful experience is included with general admission. For an extra fee you can even feed the stingrays.
How to Touch a Stringray at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium
You will find the Shedd Aquarium’s Stingray Touch exhibit under a large tent on the south side of the building. With the ongoing enhancements and additions happening at the Shedd, the access points and pathways through the aquarium have been in flux. For our visit at the member preview this week, we reached the Stingray Touch tent through the set of exterior doors near the 4-D theater on the ground level. We walked across a patio and through a switchback queue area to reach the entrance to the tent. At the entrance, an aquarium employee asked us to rinse our hands and instructed us on the proper ways to interact with the cownose rays in the exhibit.
The exhibit itself consists of a large open-top pool for a school of cownose rays. At one end of the pool is a waterfall feature, and there are some rock formations inside the pool. Visitors can position themselves around the edge of the pool and gently reach down to touch the cownose rays swimming by. The rays are able to swim freely in the pool, and they may decide to swim close to the guests at the edges or stay in the center and out of reach. During our recent visit, we all had plenty of opportunities to touch the stingrays. They were coming right up to the walls, and they even splashed us a bit!
How to Feed a Stingray at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium
During the member preview day, we also had the opportunity to feed the cownose rays. Feeding the stingrays at the Shedd Aquarium is an opportunity open to anyone with valid admission, but it does cost extra. The price is $5, with a discounted rate of $3 for members. Stingray Feeding is open from 9am to 2pm or until supplies run out. On the member preview day, the food was gone before noon.
When we fed the cownose rays, we were each given a cup with a few whole shrimp and halved fish. An aquarium employee showed us the proper way to hold the food so that the stingrays could eat out of our hands. Our older child took to this quickly, while our younger children were nervous and had a few false starts before actually feeding the rays. Everyone was glad they did it and were no longer scared after their first successful feedings. For my part, I thought it felt a bit like feeding a weak vacuum with a texture like a dog’s tongue. The Shedd Aquarium recommends the Stingray Feeding for children ages six and up.
Tips for Visiting the Shedd Aquarium’s Stingray Touch
As a family with young children, we spend a lot of time at the Stingray Touch exhibit at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. Our kids love the texture of the rays’ soft backs, and they are fascinated by the way they “fly” through the water. (Frankly, so are we!) And because this is a seasonal experience, we like to make the most of the time that it is open. With that in mind, we have a few tips for your visit.
A Step-Up for Young Kids
This first tip is a game-changer for families with toddler and pre-school age kids. The wall around the tank can be a bit high for shorter kids. While they can see over the edge and probably reach their arms over, they may not be tall enough to reach their hands down to where the stingrays are swimming. If this is the case for someone in your family, walk around the pool to the side opposite the tent’s entrance. On that side, you will see the wall curve inwards, and in that curve is a wide step! This is the best spot for younger kids to safely stand and touch the cownose rays.
An Accessible Spot at Shedd Aquarium’s Stingray Touch
You will find a designated accessible spot on the other inward curve nearer the entrance. In this area, the wall is a window.
You May Want a Change of Clothes
During our recent visit, our kids actually had to change into dry clothes after the Stingray Touch! Because they are shorter than average adults, their torsos were closer to the water’s surface, and they got splashed by the rays! Adults will probably not need fresh clothes, but we were surprised that our kids did (and glad we had some). In any case, we do recommend rolling-up your sleeves past your elbows or wearing short-sleeved clothing.
Other Places to Touch Aquatic Life
If you enjoy the Stingray Touch at the Shedd Aquarium, keep in mind that there are two other places where you can touch sealife for the price of general admission.
You can touch sturgeon in the Sturgeon Touch exhibit in the Great Lakes hall. This is an open-top tank in the middle of the Great Lakes exhibits on the Shedd Aquarium’s main level. As with the stingrays, you will rinse your hands at a washing station and find a spot along the perimeter of the pool.
The final place where you can touch residents of Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is on the “Underwater Level” where you will find the Sea Star Touch exhibit. Again, you will wash your hands, and you will receive instruction from an aquarium employee on how to gently touch the sea stars. The Sea Star Touch is probably the best place to start if anyone in your group wants to do a touch exhibit but is feeling a bit intimidated.
Other Advice for the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
Thank you for reading this article on the Stingray Touch and Stingray Feeding at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. We hope you get a chance to visit. If you want more general advice for your visit, please see Top 5 Tips for Visiting Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. For a preview of the Shedd’s newest (gorgeous) exhibit, read New Shedd Aquarium Exhibit Dazzles: Wonder of Water. And for advice on what else to do with kids nearby, check-out 5 Fun Things for Kids To Do Near the Chicago Loop. Finally, please consider subscribing to our free newsletter below. Thanks again for reading!
