Explore Sea, Sky, and Earth at New Science Academy
Not yet a year old, the new home of the California Academy of Sciences is already a must-see San Francisco landmark.
The California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park has a 2.5 acre“ living roof” landscaped to mimic the rolling hills of San Francisco.
Credit: Photo by Tim Griffith, courtesy the California Academy of Sciences
The academy is a remarkable merger of architecture and purpose, a green-friendly structure located in Golden Gate Park offering a home for a natural-history museum, planetarium, and aquarium as well as a thriving scientific research enterprise—all devoted to advancing understanding of planetary biodiversity.
The academy, which was founded in 1853, is an international leader in scientific research about the natural world. In 1891 it opened the Kimball Natural History Museum to showcase its specimens (although it had some small public exhibits prior to this), and in 1923 it opened Stein-hart Aquarium; the Morrison Planetarium was opened in 1952.
The new structure, designed by internationally renowned architect Renzo Piano, houses these landmark attractions plus many new ones. It opened to the public last September and has quickly become a popular destination.
One of 10 “green building” projects of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, the new academy is part of a city initiative to develop models for workable, sustainable, public architecture.
One of the more distinctive features of the new academy is the 2.5-acre“ living roof”—a natural-grass roof with a landscape of rolling hills to mimic the topography of San Francisco itself.
“With the new academy, we are creating a museum that is visually and functionally linked to its natural surroundings, metaphorically lifting up a piece of the park and putting a building underneath,” said Piano in a statement released at the building's opening. “Through sustainable architecture and innovative design, we are adding a vital new element to Golden Gate Park and expressing the academy's dedication to environmental responsibility.”
APA members visiting the academy during APA's annual meeting will want to note that on Tuesday, May 19, Academy Fellow Sarah Hardy, Ph.D., will present the lecture “Darwin and the Descent of the Emotionally Modern Man” at 7 p.m. Entry is for the lecture only; the rest of the academy will be closed. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and can be purchased by phone at (800) 794-7576 or online at<www.calacademy.org/events>.
The “Water Planet” exhibit features an ever-changing array of aquarium tanks set into curvilinear walls that evoke ocean waves.
Credit: Photo by Tim Griffith, courtesy the California Academy of Sciences
Every third Wednesday of the month addmission to the academy is free between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., so consider visiting on Wednesday, May 20. On Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., the academy sponsors“ NightLife,” during which visitors can explore the exhibits after hours while enjoying music and a cash bar. No one under 18 is permitted, and valid identification is required for entry. Tickets are $10.
Regular exhibits include an impressive line-up of attractions. These are just some of them:
African Hall: “The original African Hall opened at the academy in 1934 and quickly became one of San Francisco's best-loved attractions,” according to the academy's Web site. “To preserve a piece of its history, the academy saved two of the exterior walls of the original hall and recreated the original dioramas in meticulous detail.”
Early Explorers Cove: Infants, toddlers, and their caregivers should be intrigued by this introduction to the natural world.
Morrison Planetarium: Every hour on the half-hour from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. there is a showing of “Fragile Planet,” a half-hour film narrated by actress Sigourney Weaver. Tickets are handed out on a first-come, first-served basis for this very popular attraction.
Naturalist Center: The library and research collections are housed here, including some 210,000 books, 25,000 maps, 300,000 images, and 20 million animals, plants, minerals, and cultural artifacts.
Water Planet: “Silvery, sculpted walls and dramatic lighting create a media-rich interactive exhibit about the critical relationship between water and life,” according to the academy. “Exhibit favorites include leafy and weedy sea dragons, medicinal leeches, Australian lungfish, and giant salamanders.”
Admission to the California Academy of Sciences is $24.95 for adults, $19.95 for youth aged 12 to 17 and seniors aged 65 and over, and $14.95 for children aged 7 to 11. Children under age 7 are admitted free. Prices include access to all components of the academy experience, including all museum exhibits, aquarium displays, planetarium shows, and the living rainforest. A discount of $3 per person is available for taking public transportation to the academy.
More information is posted at<www.calacademy.org>.▪
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Published online: 20 February 2009
Published in print: February 20, 2009
Notes
The popular new attraction in Golden Gate Park is part of an initiative by the city to develop “sustainable” public architecture.
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