Shedd Aquarium Opens Outdoor Stingray Touch Experience

Shedd Aquarium, a renowned leader in science education and immersive learning, invites guests to explore the underwater grace and wonder of stingrays in a new hands-on special exhibit, Stingray Touch.

The outdoor seasonal exhibit will allow guests to see – and feel – the texture and movement of these gentle gliding animals. Below are some fun facts regarding stingrays.

Make sure to look for the complete article about Stingray Touch in our Fun Guide, coming soon. 

Photo courtesy of ©Shedd Aquarium: Brenna Hernandez.

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT STINGRAYS? 

Did you know that stingrays have been around since the time of the dinosaurs? After swimming around the planet for more than 100 million years, stingrays haven’t changed much at all.

Is it a stingray or shark? The wingtip of cownose rays can curl above the water’s surface, bearing a resemblance to shark fins.

Stingrays are related to sharks, and similarly, they do not have bones. Their bodies are supported by cartilage—the same material that you feel inside the tip of your nose and ears.

Stingrays are masters of disguise. Yellow rays stay hidden on sandy ocean floors and cownose rays blend in with the blues and greys of the ocean waters.

Mr. Ray, Nemo’s stingray teacher in the animated film Finding Nemo, is a spotted eagle ray. Spotted eagle rays are found in tropical regions and can be identified by its dark dorsal surface covered in white spots or rings.

The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, S.C. The organization's mascot is Cool Ray, loosely based on a stingray species known as the southern ray.

While a baby stingray is still inside its mother, it looks like a little adult. From birth, the young stingray is able to fend for itself.

There are more than 70 species of stingrays, including river rays that live in freshwater rivers.

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray will serve as the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car. The Stingray model was first introduced in 1963 as part of the second generation of Corvette.

The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Fla. Raymond, the team’s mascot, is a manta ray.