Ten years and millions of dollars later, the California Academy of Sciences reopened recently…it is my last pick for the top places for families in San Francisco.
It is described as the only place on the planet with an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum, and a 4-story rainforest all under one roof. It’s a unique architectural achievement with hundreds of educational/fun exhibits and nearly 40,000 live animals.
One of those live animals is an albino crocodile…it is near the entry, and gets a lot of attention.
albino crocodile
The rainforest boasts free flying birds and butterflies in a humid rainforest-like environment…
Kids love walking through and gazing at the exotic colored reptiles …
And of course the Steinhart Aquarium has all sorts of water bound creatures.
The 400,000 square foot structure is also San Francisco’s first green museum….a grass roof and circular sky lights are incorporated into the stunning architecture.
But here are some things you may not have read about in all the press it received when the Academy reopened almost two years ago-
Every third Wednesday admission is free…otherwise admission for adults is $24.95, and kids $14-$20 depending on age. Thursday nights the Academy is open for adults only “date nights”…
It is a fabulous prototype to what a modern museum should be. Located in Golden Gate Park, you could easily spend a whole day in the area with all of the park’s other attractions.
Great work once again!! I am looking forward for more updates!