What to do in an extreme heat alert in Chicago

Extreme heat alert:
Heat Index:  near 95°F
High: 92°F
Low: 72°F
Feels like 95°F
Chance of Precipitation 20%
Wind S 14 mph
Humidity 61%
(Around 8 pm, it was still +90°F! Yuck!)

Free day at Shedd Aquarium. Most schools are back in session, so it seemed like a good place to go to stay cool.
"The journey is half the adventure," but in reality, leaving the house is half the adventure! Finally left around 11:00  am. (I'd like to say we were avoiding rush hour traffic...) Hardly any cars on the road near us, but instant traffic jam when we got to 290E... Our path for 26 miles! Luckily, Lilly took the opportunity to nap (she's been on a morning nap strike the past few days). After 30 min and 3 miles, we narrowed to 1 lane to get around construction, then the road opened  and the jam was cleared. Phew! Smooth sailing the rest of the way. Even parking was a breeze at the indoor lot under Soldier Field.
Hardly a line at the Shedd. That was a win, but free was just referring to basic admission which enabled us to open and walk through the doors. To see dolphins, sharks, jellies, penguins, etc. we had to buy wrist bands, minus the few bucks that general admission would've cost. Parking wasn't free either. A pricey day for being labeled 'Free!' Oh, well.

Highlights:
Sea horse
Touch lake sturgeon
Lilly & I watched dolphins under water while S played in a submarine
Wild reef

I was a little disheartened by the computer screens & games that were scattered throughout the exhibits. They were at Shawn's height and he gravitated to them (by design, I'm sure) rather than the actual, living creatures. They were all very educational and fit perfectly with the exhibits, i.e. illustrating the dangers of invasive species in a way Shawn could understand. Those add-ons could've easily been posted on their website to followup at home or even on a smart phone right there, if visitors were so inclined.  I felt like they were really intrusive to our visit.
After we were all done visiting the exhibits, the sub in the Polar Play Zone snagged Shawn.
Penguin playground, submarine again, potty break, watch trainers working w dolphins (missed the last show earlier... probably while playing in the sub!), then sub again until close 5 pm
Leisurely walk back to car, stopped for a cool drink at street vendor cart, S asleep by 5:30, though L was starving on drive home. (Good thing S snacked on a pb&nutella and blueberries before falling asleep - dinner?)
L devoured her oatmeal for dinner and then Skyped w Oma & Opa
S slept for a while, but wasn't out for the night. He woke around 7:30 pm. Refreshed. Damn. We tried to keep a pretty low key evening, but bedtime was still a battle around 10 pm.