SF Freebie: California Academy of Sciences

Soooo... a little bird tipped me off that the wonderful California Academy of Sciences is FREE every third Wednesday of the month. Thank you, little bird! (you know who you are ;-) ) Wednesday the 17th of March -- also known as St. Paddy's Day -- was the third Wednesday of the month and I happened to be in San Francisco and ready to do something FREE! What luck!

Little Bird also advised me to get there early. Little Bird clearly does not know me very well: I don't do Early. But I am capable of Early Enough.

And so, on a bright and sunny morning I did emerge and managed to make it to the Academy of Sciences within minutes of noon-o'-clock. Seeing that I'm not a morning person at all, I was quite pleased with myself, especially given that I had walked all the way there, through gorgeous Golden Gate Park. I did have to stand in a very long line -- apparently I was not the only one with such a bright idea on a beautiful day -- but I didn't mind at all because the temps were warm and the sun was friendly. In 35 minutes I was at the front of the line and in the doors of this magnificent building.

Dear Free 4 Me Fans -- if you are ever in San Francisco, you MUST GO to this space. You MUST MUST GO. It is phenomenal and inspiring and beautiful all at once. I spent nearly my entire day there, and suffered from exhibit fatigue at one point, but what a pleasurable fatigue it was. Here were the highlights for me:

• I loved the 4-story Rainforest, and probably spent most of my time here, hanging out with the birds, lizards, frogs, and butterflies. I think, actually, I could have spent the entire day here! I loved it. Not only was it beautifully green and lush, but it was so educational. I learned a lot about the different levels and layers of the rainforest. 

 

• The Steinhart Aquarium was also very cool. I will admit that I didn't really explore all of it, as I was beginning to get tired at this point, but I did enjoy the jellyfish and the huge water tanks with all sorts of fishy creatures. I wanted to just sit and relax and hang out underwater all afternoon. It really made me miss scuba diving, something I wish I could do more often!

 

• The Natural History Museum, with its exhibits all over the space of the building. I love especially how the focus is on conservation and climate change. A particular highlight for me was the section on carbon footprint and how it is connected to food choices. I think not enough people are aware of this connection, so I was happy to see a very low-tech but highly interactive exhibit demonstrating the relationship. 

 

• The Living Roof -- full of gadgets and small creatures! Solar panels, insects, butterflies, and flora are all over this roof. Text panels explain how it all works and is connected to keeping the building sustainable. Very cool!

 

• A series of Andy Warhol silkscreen prints: Endangered Species. What a lovely surprise, finding this here! I only wish the gift shop had T-shirts or postcards of these works of art (sadly, they did not).

I'm disappointed I didn't get to the planetarium or to explore more of the aquarium, but I was just overwhelmed with so much to look at, see, and do. I was very impressed by how the Academy catered to so many different age groups -- in every exhibit, there really was something for everyone. Interactive displays, high-tech and low-tech, were at different height levels on the wall. Visitors could go into as much detail as possible and there were hundreds of permutations and combinations, making it obvious that the visitor should return at some point. At several different times, I heard visitors around me saying things like, "Oh, that's new. They didn't have that last time," which indicates that the Academy rotates exhibits and keeps things fresh.

Kudos to the Cal Academy of Sciences -- a fabulous job that left me wanting to come back again and again. If you're not in the Bay Area and won't have access to visit any time soon, I highly recommend you check out their website. It is very interactive, educational, and engaging, and I think you'll find you could spend some time exploring there, too!

Note: All photos here are my own. See the entire set at my Flickr page here.