As I stated before, it is quite nice if taken for what it is; a new wing to the Science Center, not a complete aquarium with dozens and dozens of tanks. The entire wing, including the Kelp Forest Zone's large tank, probably only has a total of maybe 15-20 tanks. That includes the River Zone which only has 1 or 2. But it's cool to have a nice display, right in the middle of town, of live marine life displayed beautifully. I wish it were here when I use to bring my 2 boys when they were much younger, and we lived only 3 or 4 miles away.
If you notice to the left of the viewing window, the rack with large laminated cards. Those are all you'll have to identify the individual species, since there is virtually no signage available for that as of yet.
As I stated before, it is quite nice if taken for what it is; a new wing to the Science Center, not a complete aquarium with dozens and dozens of tanks. The entire wing, including the Kelp Forest Zone's large tank, probably only has a total of maybe 15-20 tanks. That includes the River Zone which only has 1 or 2. But it's cool to have a nice display, right in the middle of town, of live marine life displayed beautifully. I wish it were here when I use to bring my 2 boys when they were much younger, and we lived only 3 or 4 miles away.
How long would you estimate it would take to visit the California Academy of Sciences? That includes Steinhart Aquarium, the grass roof, the tropical rainforest, the natural history museum and perhaps a brief peek at the planetarium...the entire building!
How long would you estimate it would take to visit the California Academy of Sciences? That includes Steinhart Aquarium, the grass roof, the tropical rainforest, the natural history museum and perhaps a brief peek at the planetarium...the entire building!
This photo is of the new California Science Center, which is in LA and I've not visited.
San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences is a pretty comprehensive facility, that could easily take a half a day to see all of it. It's not possible to "take a brief peek at the planetarium"--it has a few scheduled shows daily that one usually needs to get advance tickets for.
It's a good plan to allocate some time to explore the rest of Golden Gate Park, truly one of the great urban parks of the world. A wonderful Conservatory, beautiful ponds, fern glades, meadows and even a bison herd can be discovered there. And don't miss having a beer and a burger at the Beach Chalet, a nice restored WPA building at the far west end of the Park overlooking the Pacific.
The "new" CAS is somewhat controversial with people who fondly remember the old Steinhart Aquarium, which was a classic series of galleries with small tanks. The new aquarium is much less formal and has fewer exhibits, especially of reptiles (although that may be remedied by this summer's temporary exhibit). The green roof is fantastic, and the underwater tunnel in the rainforest is spectacular.
Thanks reduakari! I was briefly confused by the new California Academy of Sciences (new style, anyway) in San Francisco and the new California Science Center in Los Angeles. I wholeheartedly agree with you in regards to the 1,017 acre Golden Gate Park, which is similar to the 1,001 acre Stanley Park in Vancouver that has the Vancouver Aquarium and a 10 km scenic seawall around it. Both are gorgeous and tourist magnets, and my wife and I spent time in San Francisco in May of 2006 when we visited San Francisco Zoo, wandered through Golden Gate Park, toured Alcatraz and puttered around Fisherman's Wharf and Lombard Street. We are excited to return 5 years later in order to see the California Academy of Sciences, stroll through parts of Golden Gate Park again, visit Aquarium of the Bay, the Fisherman's Wharf tourist trap area and of course the Pier 39 California sea lions. Then we'll head over to Oakland and San Jose to visit midsized-to-small zoos in the days after our San Fran visit. I'm also thrilled to have found out a few hours ago about the snakes & lizards exhibit that will be inside the California Academy of Sciences building by the time we commence our road trip.
