California Academy of Sciences

Overview	Home to Steinhart Aquarium, Kimball Natural History Museum, Morrison Planetarium, and world-class research and education programs, the new California Academy of Sciences is the world’s largest “green” museum and one of San Francisco’s must-see destinations. From the splashing penguins in African Hall to the wildflowers on the roof, the building is bursting with life. A four-story living rainforest and awe-inspiring coral reef ecosystem will delight visitors of all ages, while interactive space shows will transport audiences beyond the boundaries of our planet. Opportunities abound to meet Academy scientists, share in their discoveries, and join the journey to make our world a greener, more sustainable place to live.
Address	55 Music Concourse Drive Phone (415) 379-8000 Golden Gate Park Email info@calacademy.org San Francisco, CA 94118 Web site www.calacademy.org
Hours of Operation	Monday – Saturday: 9:30 am – 5:00 pm Sunday: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas
Major Exhibit Descriptions
African Hall	Lions, and cheetahs, and zebras, oh my! Take a virtual safari through Africa and encounter these animals —and many others—inside intricately crafted dioramas. Look closely as you wander through the hall, and you’ll find some live animals as well, including tortoises, lizards, and a colony of African penguins.	Planetarium and Coral Reef
Altered State: Climate Change in California	Walk beneath an 80-foot-long blue whale skeleton, gaze up at a towering T. rex, come face-to-face with a live rattlesnake, and marvel at dozens of other California treasures. Then track the potential impacts of climate change in California and around the world, and learn what you can do to help. Measure the impact of your family’s every-day decisions on a carbon scale, help polar bears move from one ice floe to another in an interactive Artic Ice projection room, and share your ideas for treading more lightly on the planet at the Academy’s feedback station.
California Coast	It never rains at the Academy’s California Coast, an exhibit that highlights the state’s diverse marine environments. Watch waves roll onto a sandy beach, talk to scuba divers inside a 100,000-gallon rocky coast tank, play hide-and-seek with a giant Pacific octopus, and get a closer look at a Red-tailed hawk. You can even hold a hermit crab at the Discovery Tidepool and meet a 165-pound sea bass in the Tank of Giants.
Early Explorers’ Cove	Take your scientist-in-training to the Early Explorers’ Cove, a special exhibit designed for infants, preschoolers, and their caregivers. Tots can explore a 15-foot replica of the Academy’s 1905 research schooner, climb into a tree-house, tend a miniature organic garden, or crawl into a child-sized burrow. The exhibit is also well-stocked with books, toys, puzzles, and dress-up costumes.
Islands of Evolution	Visit the remote islands of Madagascar and The Galapagos through the eyes of Academy scientists, and discover why islands function as laboratories for evolution. Examine specimens collected during Academy research expeditions, including Galapagos tortoise shells and Darwin’s famous finches. Learn how scientists search for new species, and then put your new knowledge into practice, netting virtual butterflies with Wii gaming wands and setting pit-fall traps for virtual beetles.
Morrison Planetarium	Leave Planet Earth behind as you fly to the farthest reaches of the Universe inside the world’s largest all-digital planetarium. A live presenter will take you on a guided tour of the solar system and beyond, using current data from NASA to produce the most accurate and interactive digital Universe ever created. During a visit to the international space station, you’ll gain a new perspective on your home—the only planet known to support life.
Naturalist Center	Have a question about the natural world? The reference librarians and educators at the Naturalist Center can help you answer them. Bring in your leaves, feathers, rocks, shells, and other personal treasures for identification, look up the latest research on green technologies, or sign up for a special program in the adjoining classrooms and labs.
Philippine Coral Reef	Dive into the world’s deepest living coral reef tank without donning a wetsuit. Five underwater windows offer a fish’s eye view into one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Find Nemo—and 4,000 other reef fish—darting through a technicolor forest of coral, watch garden eels emerge from their underwater burrows, and admire the brilliant hues of a giant clam. Up on the surface, follow a boardwalk through a mangrove lagoon, where sharks, rays and sea turtles cruise beneath your feet.
Rainforests of the World	Step inside a living rainforest, where water dripping from the mahogany and palm trees sets the beat for a symphony of croaking frogs and chirping birds. Peer into one of Borneo’s bat caves, meet chameleons from Madagascar, and climb into the tree-tops of Costa Rica, where long lines of industrious leaf cutter ants march along vines and hundreds of tropical butterflies flutter like colorful confetti. Finally, descend in a glass elevator into the Amazonian flooded forest—the land of anacondas, piranhas, and electric eels. An acrylic tunnel allows you to walk beneath the Amazonian river fish that swim overhead.
Science in Action	Go beyond the headlines and gain in-depth information about recent scientific discoveries around the world. Live talks by Academy scientists, audio-visual displays, computer stations, and podcasts provide a reliable source of timely and relevant news about the natural world.
The Living Roof	Stop and smell the wildflowers during a visit to the Academy’s living roof, a 2.5-acre expanse of native California plants. Part of the museum’s green building strategy, the roof provides superior insulation, prevents storm water runoff, reduces the urban heat island effect, and creates new habitat for native birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. An engineering marvel, the seven hills of the living roof roll over the Academy’s major exhibits and echo the hilly topography of San Francisco.
The Swamp	Peer over the bronze railing of The Swamp tank if you dare—American alligators and alligator snapping turtles rule the water below. One of these reptiles, an albino gator with startling white skin, may steal the lion’s share of the attention, but it’s hard to ignore his neighbors for too long. Snakes, frogs, and salamanders live in smaller tanks nearby, and a biologist often brings a Great horned owl into the exhibit to meet visitors.
Water Planet	What does it take to live underwater? Find out in this innovative exhibit that includes more than 100 aquarium tanks filled with fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates. Once an hour, the lights go down inside the tanks, the room transforms into a 360-degree projection theater, and visitors are immersed in a five-minute video about the most precious resource on the planet: water.
Admissions and Operations
Admission	Note: Prices include access to all components of the Academy experience, including all museum exhibits, aquarium displays, planetarium shows, and the living rainforest. Adults: $24.95 Youth (ages 12-17): $19.95 Senior (ages 65 and over): $19.95 Child (ages 7-11): $14.95 Ages 6 and under: FREE
Group Bookings	Special discount pricing is available for groups of 15 or more persons. Requests and reservations can be arranged by contacting the Travel Industry Sales department at toursales@calacademy.org or by calling 415.379.5210.
Memberships	Individual: $99 Includes unlimited admission for membership holder plus one guest Senior (65 and over): $59 Includes unlimited admission for membership holder plus one guest Family: $159 Includes unlimited admission for two adults and all children or grandchildren 18 years of age and under Family Plus: $250 Includes all Family membership benefits, plus admission for two guests.
Restaurants	The California Academy of Sciences includes two culinary destinations run by renowned chefs Charles Phan (chef and owner of The Slanted Door) and Loretta Keller (chef and owner of COCO5OO). Both venues will feature local, organic, sustainable foods. • The Academy Café offers healthy, kid-friendly, multicultural food that appeals to a wide demographic. It is open Monday–Saturday from 9:30 am – 5 pm and Sundays from 11 am – 5 pm. • The Moss Room is a full service restaurant that will highlight the vital relationship between food and culture. Lunch is served daily from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm and dinner is served daily from 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm.
Green Architecture	Designed by award winning architect Renzo Piano, the California Academy of Sciences sets a new standard for sustainable architecture. Supported by recycled steel, insulated with recycled blue jeans, powered in part by solar panels, and topped with a living roof, the building is the epitome of energy-efficient design. The Academy has been awarded Platinum Certification, the highest possible rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The California Academy of Sciences is honored with the distinction as the world’s largest “green” museum.
Facility Rental	The Academy accepts reservations for private events. Event rental prices range from $4,000 - $30,000, exclusive of catering costs. The new Academy can accommodate seated parties of up to 1,000 people or receptions of up to 3,000 people. For more information, please contact Anne Rianda at arianda@calacademy.org or 415-379-5497.