California Academy of Sciences Review

It tends to be way too crowded but it's a fun place to visit.

This is a sort of an all-in-one museum. There s a planetarium, an aquarium, a rain forest and an interactive science museum. My kids really enjoyed the rain forest, which is mainly themed towards environmental protection and awareness. It has some interesting species of plants, and lots of butterflies! The aquarium is also very well made, with a diverse variety of specimens. The science museum is rather limited. There is also a roof garden, and the lawns around the area are very pleasant. Great place to spend a few hours with kids, especially on a cold and foggy day! A bit on the expensive side, though.

First time there and it was Amazing. Great place for all ages. Many different things to experience.

It s pretty expensive but if you spend a few hours inside and see a planetarium show it is worth the cisif. There is a nice outside cafe on the first floor you can grab a drink at and relax. It is often very crowded with children, for a different experience check out the night life events.

We all enjoyed it here, thanks to my sister and her family for taking us. I'm not sure how expensive it is but it must be bcoz the website says $$$. My sister bought the annual membership as you get to bring other people for free and/or at a discounted rate. The tropical dome is huge and as it is tropical so try not to wear thick inner clothes in the winter time as it can get really uncomfortable.. esp for the kids. The parking in the bldg is pricey, you need to be ready for that, make sure you leave a lot of time for parking. This is probably why all the parking on the streets were full. Great place tho!

Great museum! There is a wealth of information for all ages.

Beautiful building, great exhibits, must bring the kids at least once.

A bit expensive and no way to access information in a language other than English. Nice visit but despite the quality of the place, it is uneven and not very dynamic.

Very cool place! Awesome areas! The aquarium area is fantastic! The first Thursday is really really awesome! A must!

It was beautiful and fun and an amazing experience I just went yesterday with my class

A cool and informative place. There is a white albino crocodile. Never seen one. So pretty awesome. The tropical forest and all kinds of different insects really amaze me. A highly recommended museum for both the kids and the adult.

A wonderful living museum that contains some amazing wildlife from all corners of the world. Visited during the Thursday night opening and it was great with no children running around.

It is such a huge place of fun interactions, my family enjoyed the aquarium that was located down stairs!
Be warned that the building does close it's doors to the public (not VIP members) around 4 p.m. since a lot of the exhibits meet their maximum around this time.

This place is absolutely spectacular! They have all sorts of exhibits that are each amazing in their own way. The rainforest, the aquarium, the African exhibit, the living roof, the mineral exhibit, the earthquake exhibit, and more are all really great. Plus, they have a student discount, so that's good too.

Quite expensive but with an amazing selection of exhibitons

The Amazon Rain Forest and the Planetarium are amazing.

Nightlife is one of the most underrated events in the city; drinks, live music and dancing. Great way to spend a Thursday night with friends.

Roof garden can't be beat. Butterflies were awesome.

My 7 year old loves this place. Get your yearly membership and take your own food.

Been here on quite a few occasions:
- Thursday's Nightlife
- SF Beer Week
- Google Experts event

The museum is fun and informative in itself and also serves as a great background for a multitude of events. The staff is always friendly and I believe the catering for Nightlife and the Google events were done in-house. The catered food is consistent although I have never eaten in the museum cafe. It's great that the museum can have events for adults specifically but it's also a great venue to take children to explore.

Plenty to entertain the entire family- planetarium, aquarium, museum. Plus, all the best of Golden Gate Park is steps away.

Admission price a bit steep. Aquarium is average size, nice variety of species but not breathtaking. The rainforest section is very cool but a tad small. Cafeteria prices are jacked. Overall better for kids than adults. Although the Foucalt s Pendylum did spark some interesting conversations.

Smaller than similar science museums but it's so well designed and maintained that the experience is more densely enjoyable. The downside is that it can be a little overwhelming and you still haven't even hit half of what the academy offers.

Very interesting and unusual museum, with many freshwater fish and the beautiful coral reef fishes plus a small colony of cute penguins
At the center of the structure a large environment protected by plants, butterflies, birds and two colorful parrots (ara)

Although the tickets are not cheap, it is really worth it.

I have been a member of the Academy for a little over a year now. I love to visit my favorite animals the aquarium - I recommend the octopus and the spitting fish! They also do great special exhibits, lectures and Night Life for adults on Thursdays.

We thoroughly enjoyed this amazing museum. Nice botanical garden, aquarium, penguins, african showcase and interesting shows about coral reefs and space exploration! Check them out!

Admissions price is quite steep, but it's a great place to see animals from all kinds of climates. It's probably the most amazing place in terms of the variety of animals contained in one location. Building is designed by the famous architect Renzo Piano and it's one of the 'Greenest' buildings on the planet.

Great place to visit with or without kids. It has multiple exhibitions from evolution-related to aquatic. They even host parties here which is pretty hip.

Entrance is a bit expensive for the little activity and exhibition on offer compared to other museums of this kind.

FANTASTIC! Fun, full of things to learn, do, see, not enough time to see it all.
NEED to come back here many, many more times.

One of the places not to miss when visiting San Francisco

This is a fun place for all ages. It has a live feeding time with penguins, an aquarium, rainforest, and also many different stations to attend and learn something new.

Great aquarium and great exhibits. The parking fee is steep.

This place is amazing and one of the most impressive places to take a brainy date to. They have these Night-Life events that take place every Thursday and the theme is basically, science meets pop culture, meets a ginger tonic. It is incredibly fun and very hipster approved in my opinion. The drinks are not cheap of course, but the entrance tickets are at only $12 per person. They even have live-ostrich babies! If you can't win date of the year here then you're standing in the wrong museum. OH! and check out the starlight from the living roof exhibit, and get there early to catch the planetarium as it fills up in an instant.

Lots of different areas of science in the same place! Amazing

I was a chaperone for an elementary school. I went to take a group of kids to see the Planaterium. The tickets were free. When I got to the ticket person I was asked if I was with a school. I said yes. At that time I was denied entry because I was with a school. I thought I misunderstood so I asked again. The lady told me if I was here by myself I could go right in. Because I was here with a school field trip I was not allowed to take the kids inside. What a wonderful place California has become. There is the real world then there is California. We should all be proud.

if you love the california academy of sciences then you will love the store! lemondrop the albino male python now has his home in the store itself so you can admire him and pick up a cuddly lemondrop of your own!

Great place for kids and adults on a Thursday night. Has a bit of everything really. The planetarium is exceptionally good;very knowledgeable staff in that department.

This museum is amazing. It's exploring the life on Earth. It's located in San Francisco s Golden Gate Park, which is an amazing beautiful park to walk through. You must see the aquarium, planetarium and the amazing rainforest inside this museum

What a wonderful wonderful place. Everything in one building they have the animatronic dinosaurs with nice displays they have a jungle museum with lion cheetas and even penguins they have birds and frogs they have a planetarium with sting rays outside it. They have a pretty big aquarium with thousands of fish of all kinds they have fresh water and salt water fish they have a rain forest with a swamp exhibit and alligators, tons of whale, seal and walrus skeletons they have a section with plants on the roof boy its just an amazing place to visit. Definitely the highlight of my San Francisco visit.

Thursday Nite Life is incredible. Get there early to ensure you see the Osher Rainforest before it closes.

I love the AOS night tours...its a party! If you can at leaset try buying the VIP tour.

Amazingly beautiful and stoning place, really Good experience in there

Fun place to take a date for the first time. Wine needed Friendly and helpful service. Go check it out

Great place for families with Kids, try to avoid the free days, free days are always overcrowded, the building itself is a great pice of engineering and architecture, the rain forest and planetarium are great, the aquarium is beautiful and is great for young kids, they have a very nice area for toddlers , the food at the cafe is really good and the parking under the building make the visit more pleasant, since parking is a big issue in San Francisco, the side garden areas are great for picnics if you bring your own food, yes you can bring your own food if you like.

Great for everyone, especially for children and young adults. Should be more affordable for all.

A very cool place to spend half your day in SF. My 9 year old son loves this place. The hlass enclosed ecosystem is very unique and the butterflies, birds, and bugs are really awesome. The aquarium is pretty impressive with some rare species and the planetarium show is cool although it is kind of a lecture on our existence. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit and saved $ through our SF City Pass.

The California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world.

In 1853, just three years after California joined the United States; seven men assembled in a candle lit room in San Francisco and founded the first scientific academy west of the Atlantic seaboard.

Over the past 160 years, the Academy has grown to become the fourth largest natural history museum in the country. Home to Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium, and the Kimball Natural History Museum, as well as world class research and education departments, the Academy's mission is to explore, explain, and sustain life.

In its early days, the Academy consisted of a group of naturalists who met weekly in a small Victorian office in San Francisco, where scientific papers were presented on topics of interest to a group of curious citizens.

In 1868, it was renamed as the California Academy of Sciences.

In 1874, the academy's first official museum opened at the corner of California and DuPont Streets (now Grant Avenue) in what now is Chinatown, and drew up to 80,000 visitors a year.

In 1891, to accommodate its increasing popularity, the academy moved to a new and larger building on Market Street.

In 1906, the great San Francisco Earthquake struck and left the museum in charred ruins. But even as the city burned, a two-year Academy expedition to the Galapagos Islands was gathering the material that would form the nucleus of the institution's new collections.

In 1916, the Academy found a new home, the North American Hall in Golden Gate Park.

In 1923, Steinhart Aquarium, the most diverse aquarium in the world, was added and over the next eight decades, five major exhibit halls as well as buildings for research were constructed to help further the Academy's mission to explore, explain, and protect the natural world.

In 1934, the Simson African Hall was added.

In 1951, the addition of the Science Hall was added.

In 1952, the Morrison Planetarium was added. The Morrison Planetarium was the seventh major planetarium to open in the United States and featured a "one of a kind star projector," built by academy staff members (in part using the expertise gained doing the optical work for the U.S. Navy during World War II).

In 1959, the Malliard Library, Eastwood Hall of Botany, and Livermore Room all were added. Throughout the 1960s, universities concentrating on the new field of molecular biology divested themselves of their specimen collections, entrusting them to the academy and leading to a rapid growth of the academy's holdings.

In 1969, another new building, Cowell Hall, was added to the site.

In 1976, several new galleries were opened

In 1977, the "fish roundabout" was constructed.

In 1989, nature again took its toll in the form of the Loma Prieta earthquake. Major structural damage left the Academy in need of another beginning.

Our visit:
Went there on opening day, big mistake! The only good

That was a mistake but still, worth the trip...Other than being bumper to bumper with other visitors who some had the same thought of the crowds, it was interesting to see how they made improvements here.

They added new solar panels, covered the roof with dirt and plants and redid the whole interior which looks great. It was also hot inside and I don't think they turned the AC on. I also thought the price was steep but I guess your contributing to science! Great place!

It will be the best experience in San Francisco. It is an expensive entrance fee, but it is well worth it.

Amazing place so much more than a museum. A San Fran classic.

So much to see, to explore and learn and I can just every weekend here!!!!

One of my favorite museums in the city~ Love the elevator ride down to the aquarium.

I enjoyed the exhibits a lot, but the VIP offer during After Hours thing isn't worth it. Part of it's just that I'm not in to guided tours, but this one was particularly lousy.

Play all day on a rainy day. Some people will explain.

Definitely one of the highlights of my visit to San Francisco. My favorite part was the aquarium, all the varieties of sea life were mesmerizing. I also found the green roof and energy efficient design fascinating as well. Double LEED Platinum, no less.

Easily one of my favorite museums. World class planetarium and aquarium!

In 1992 he hosted for the first time in the world a white shark of not even one year in a 380,000 liter tank he died of shock in one day

My son and I enjoyed 3 days straight here during a vacation. It's been months and his is still talking about how much he wants to return. Amazing experience. Pack a lunch and plan to stay for the day!

Very nice place for entertainment, education and history I liked!!

Nice museum with spaces for corporate events. I enjoyed the rainforest and aquarium.

I only gave 4 stars because of the price. I'll admit that I have been spoiled by the free Getty museums in Los Angeles, but I found these prices hard to imagine as being realistic for a family. The price will exclude many. That said, it is an amazing, wonderful down right spectacular experience for nature lovers. It includes an aquarium, planetarium, and world class butterfly exhibit, and it's a bird watchers dream. It is all things nature for over 160 years. It is nothing short of fabulous.

Great exhibits. Staffers well trained and friendly. 90% of crowd parents and children. Expensive admission.

Hands down one of the best museums I've ever visited, to the point where I was infuriating my friends by taking so long to look at everything. Incredibly helpful (and mostly volunteer I believe) staff on hand, excellent aquarium and endless other stuff to see, all situated in a new building and beautiful surrounds. Special mention for Claude the albino alligator!

One of the coolest science museums I've ever seen. From the diverse aquarium species to the state-of-the-art planetarium (equipped with one of the smartest wit-sharp operators out there), to its living roof. And do not fear the food court! It is also delightful.

Quick advise: don't go on a weekend - try to go before noon so you can safetly catch the planetarium shows and have a pleasant stroll through the aquarium to beat the rush of school kids/tourists.

Great visit learning a lot of things about life science. The only complaint was a brief encounter with an ignorant staff who has one arm tatooed, at the rainforest entrance. I asked him if the blue whale is going to extinct. He started blaming on Chinese endangering them by whaling. Did my research and found out it was not the case. In fact, Japan has a long history of killing whales. We were annoyed by his biased and false information and think it was a mistake to even ask questions to someone who holds no credentials in that particular area. Lesson #1: don't believe 100% what people say, always do your own research.

I love the Cal Academy, and Nightlife is so fun! The exhibits are great, especially the 4-story rainforest habitat. It's a great place to bring your kids during the day, or have a drink or two with your nerd crew on Thursday nights.

I am a tourist from Namibia in Africa. This was my 3rd visit to th California Academy of Sciences. What an incredible place of learning for both young and old! The Rain forest is amazing and the aquarium out of this world. Also loved the Earthquake simulation and the Africa room with the penguins. The Skin Exhibit is brilliant! One could spend days here and still not have seen it all. DEFINITELY a must-visit.

Just for kids might be interested. For adults is too costly - $40

I saw Nemo in the aquarium Dragon, I went to the space, I can not see the space properly, I'm only working hard at the aquarium

I went to the 21+ after hours opening they have on Thursdays and it was so much fun! They have a ton of beautiful and interesting things to see and learn about. They even had experts stationed around to answer questions. Since it was the after hours opening they brought out a dj with a living plant wall backdrop. The drinks were spendy but they were delicious and deceivingly strong. Admission was only $15 per person which made up for the expensive drinks and parking.