Night at the museum…

Posted: June 14, 2009 at 9:37 am by John

The new California Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park has become an instant landmark…it is also INCREDIBLY popular. Since it opened last fall, we have tried to visit several times, only to be met by amazingly long lines. And then the Academy did something ingenious…it opened the museum on Thursday nights…and made it adults only. They served alcohol and played club music. They made it a hip destination.

When we visited, it was still crowded, and we couldn’t see everything…but we got a nice walk-thru of the major parts. We didn’t get to go into the planetarium…so we will HAVE to go back. (I can’t imagine what the museum is like during the day, with kids running everywhere and strollers clogging the narrow passages.)

Under one part of its eco-friendly, undulating, living roof, the museum houses an enclosed, multi-level rain forest (above). Since most of the museum is glass and steel, this glowing green orb is visible from 2/3 of the main floor…surrounded by pools of water that give you a glimpse of the aquariums on the floor below.

And yes, the museum also houses non-living (or formerly living) displays, such as its historic African diaramas, and jars upon jars of animals in various states of dissection.