Report on a trip to the Windy City Heather Chrudimsky For The News-Chronicle So much to see, so little time - a phrase that accurately describes Chicago, located on the Lake of Michigan and just three short hours from Green Bay, depending on how fast you drive. Chicago can make a great vacation destination for the entire family. Whether you are staying the whole week or just looking for a weekend getaway, Chicago has several attractions to keep you busy the whole time. Here are three ideas to occupy your time. Shedd Aquarium No trip to Chicago is complete without a visit to the Shedd Aquarium. It opened in 1929 and is one of the oldest public aquariums in the world. The Shedd, the largest indoor aquarium in the world, is the first inland aquarium to maintain a permanent exhibition of both freshwater and saltwater fishes. The aquarium displays animals from regions as far away as Asia, Africa and Australia and as close as Lake Michigan. Each exhibit helps shows the diversity of aquatic life from the world's oceans, rivers and lakes. The Shedd is split up in different exhibits including the Caribbean Coral Reef, the Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River, Oceanarium: A Walk Along the Pacific Northwest Coast, Fish from Around the World and the Wild Reef. The Caribbean Coral Reef includes hundreds of species of fish and creatures in a 90,000-gallon exhibit, including parrotfish, rays, a bonnethead shark, a streamlined tarpon and many others. Visitors can watch a diver hand-feed the animals five times a day. Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River gives visitors a closer look at the Amazon and rainforest. The exhibit shows an entire year of Amazon seasons and the changes that yearly floods bring to the river and the surrounding forest. Visitors get an up-close and personal look at anaconda, piranhas, arawanas, snap insects, spiders and even birds from the area. Oceanarium: A Walk Along the Pacific Northwest Coast teaches visitors about the connections between animals, plants and people in the Pacific Northwest. Oceanarium has the world's the world's largest indoor marine mammal pavilion that houses beluga whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins. Visitors can come eye-to-eye with the whales and dolphins from the underwater viewing gallery. And don't forget to catch one of the dolphin shows to see some of the natural behaviors of the dolphins and whales including diving, spy-hopping and tail-waking. "During the marine mammal presentations, visitors learn how these behaviors relate to marine mammal survival in the wild," said Melissa Holland, Shedd Aquarium public relations coordinator. The aquarium's newest underground attraction, Wild Reef, has one of the most diverse displays of sharks in North America. Floor-to-ceiling exhibits let visitors come face-to-face with more than 500 species of reef fish of all shapes, colors and sizes - including more than 25 sharks. "The Shedd connects people with exotic fish and other marine life from around the world," Holland said. "By being located in the Midwest and with Lake Michigan in out backyard, we are able to educate people who might not ever have a chance to visit the coasts and about the wonders of not only our oceans, but rivers and lakes to." This winter see the holidays from a new perspective - underwater - through Neptune's Holiday Kingdom from Dec. 18 through Jan. 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., except for Dec. 25. Sea Star Quest is a special exhibit open until Jan. 9, 2005. The exhibit is the aquarium's most hands-on production letting children give a live sea star a high-five, touch a sea urchin's tube feet and meet sea cucumber, feather stars and other pentamerous echinoderms, which are spiny-skinned animals with a five-part body design. The exhibit also allows children to listen to the stars while learning about conservation at different audio posts as well as walk like the stars at a special play station. Brookfield Zoo A must see during a trip to the Windy City is the Brookfield Zoo. Visitors can wander the Zoo's 216 landscaped acres, which is home to more than 3,000 animals from all over the world. The Brookfield Zoo was opened to the public on June 30, 1934. It was modeled after the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany, where animal families were presented in naturalistic outdoor habitats. Now the zoo welcomes approximately two million people a year. Sondra Katzen, Brookfield Zoo's media relations manager, said the mission of the Chicago Zoological Society is to help people develop a sustainable and harmonious relationship with nature. Cookie, a Major Mitchell's cockatoo, is the only living alumnus of the Brookfield Zoo's original collection. He calls the Zoo's Perching Bird House home. Katzen said the Zoo has several exhibits that are the most popular with visitors, including the dolphins, bears, big cats and elephants. "The Zoo is known for its naturalistic mixed-species exhibits as well as its role in conservation at the Zoo and around the world," Katzen said. "We offer the chance for people to view animals from around the world and to discover why it's important to care about the natural world." There are a variety of exhibits housing animals from all across the world, including the Seven Seas Pachyderm House, Children's Zoo, Habitat Africa, Reptile House, Baboon Island, The Dolphin Presentation, Ituri Forest and many others. Habitat Africa allows children to navigate a nature trail pretending to be prey animals heading for a savanna watering hole. At the Reptile House, visitors can see poison frogs from South America as well as king cobras and horned frogs from Asia. For the 23rd year, visitors are welcome to celebrate the holiday season at Brookfield Zoo's Annual Holiday Magic. From 4 to 9 p.m. each night, visitors can walk along the paths illuminated by nearly one million twinkling white and colored lights. Other festive events include professional ice carving demonstrations, magicians, musical performances, storytellers, choral groups, sing to the animals, photo opportunities with animals from the Children's Zoo as well as craft activities. For more information about seasonal events visit the Zoo's Web site at www.brookfieldzoo.org. Navy Pier Navy Pier was originally designed as a shipping and recreational facility as well as a military training site during the two world wars. Now, more than 90 years later, it has evolved into a premiere family entertainment center. Navy Pier is Chicago's No. 1 tourist destination, drawing more than eight million visitors each year. There are several different sections of Navy Pier each with unique activities for everyone to enjoy. Gateway Park, located just west of the pier, was developed to enhance Chicago's lakefront. Visitors are welcomed by a fountain with computerized jet stream of varying heights and designs. The Family Pavilion houses the Chicago Children's Museum and a 440-seat large screen IMAX Theater as well as several restaurants and shops. The South Arcade, located just east of the Family Pavilion, is home to several shops, restaurants and attractions including Time Escape, a time travel ride that combines three-dimensional projections, computer graphics, live special effects robotics and high impact motion simulation for an adventure through the past, present and future Chicago; Amazing Chicago, the city's first full-sensory funhouse and maze experience; and Chicago Shakespeare Theater, a year-round theater complex. Navy Pier Park includes a permanent 150-foot-high Ferris wheel, a musical carousel, an old-fashioned swing ride as well as an 18-hole miniature golf course. The Skyline Stage is the only performance pavilion directly on Chicago's lakefront. The theater attracts both local and national artists. Dock Street runs the length of the Pier and is reserved for pedestrians, bicyclists and joggers. Festival Hall takes advantage of the lakefront view making it a unique place to hold receptions, meetings, conferences and many others. Navy Pier is also home of several pleasure boats from dinner cruises to speedboat rides. There are several sightseeing cruises including Windy, a schooner hold 150 passengers and gives 90-minute tours each day from May to October, and Seadog I, II, II and IV, four of the fastest speedboats in the country cruise Lake Michigan at speeds up to 25 knots. Navy Pier also has dinner cruises including Spirit of Chicago, which offers lunch, brunch and dinner cruises for up to 600 passengers; The Odyssey, an elegant, fine dining cruise that accommodates 750 passengers year round; and Mystic Blue Cruises, Navy Pier's newest cruise ship offering lunch, midday, dinner and midnight cruises. Navy Pier also offers several other attractions including a Ferris wheel, carousel, the wave swinger, cliff climb, Build-a-Bear Workshop as well as several restaurants.