Kovler Seal Pool

The Kovler Seal Pool at Lincoln Park Zoo is one of those zoo stops that consistently outperforms its size. The exhibit features harbor seals and gray seals in an environment with both open-air surface viewing and below-water glass panels — and it's the glass panels that create the magic.

Children who press their faces to the glass at the lower viewing panels frequently find a seal swimming directly toward them, turning to look, and hovering at the glass in apparent curiosity. The scale of a harbor seal up close — their size, their liquid eyes, the smooth efficiency of their underwater movement — creates a connection that pure above-water viewing can't replicate. The 4.

9 rating from 37 reviews reflects an exhibit that visitors specifically remember and mention.

Like all of Lincoln Park Zoo, the Kovler Seal Pool is completely free. This makes the encounter even more remarkable: for $0, children in Chicago can have a below-water seal encounter that would cost $20-30+ at comparable paid aquariums.

The exhibit is most engaging during keeper feeding times, when seals are active, vocal, and performing the behaviors that demonstrate their intelligence and agility. Check lpzoo.org for the day's keeper schedule — feeding demonstrations are informal but reliable.

The Kovler Seal Pool is one stop in a comprehensive Lincoln Park Zoo visit. Combine it with the Lion House (big cats), the Pritzker Family Children's Zoo, and the Nature Boardwalk for one of Chicago's finest free family half-days.