One year anniversary of the new California Academy of Sciences

October 4, 8:31 PMSacramento Outdoor Travel ExaminerLaurie Racca

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Cast of T-Rex skeleton. See the slideshow for pictures of more of the exhibits.

On September 26 and 27, 2009 the California Academy of Sciences celebrated the one year anniversary of their wonderful new facility located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Beginning with the building construction and throughout the exhibits, the overall theme of the facility is respect and appreciation for the natural world.

The Academy building is earth friendly including the use of recycled materials during construction, energy efficient technologies, and an amazing living roof. The exhibit space is efficiently organized and did not seem overly crowded even on a weekend during the special anniversary event.

Explore the California coastal exhibit as you make your way to the entrance of the rainforest exhibit where colorful frogs, birds and butterflies await. Walk through an underwater tunnel to see catfish and piranha above you. Explore a coral reef in the aquarium, then move to an African safari that includes penguins. Yes, South African penguins!

For a lesson on sustainability, make sure to visit the climate change exhibit and take a look at the Academy’s living roof. And don’t forget the Planetarium. Make sure to pick up your free passes to the Planetarium show as soon as you arrive as seating is limited.

Fans of the old California Academy of Sciences will be happy to see that the always popular Foucault Pendulum is still around. A beautiful and fun demonstration of the rotation of the Earth.

Hours and Tickets: Academy hours are 9:30 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday, and 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday.

General admission tickets are available for purchase on-line or at the museum: $24.95 adults, $14.95 children 7 to 11 (younger kids are free), $19.95 for youth (ages 12-17), students and seniors.

Good Eats: There are two excellent dining options at the California Academy of Sciences. The Academy Café is a cafeteria style restaurant. The Moss Room is a full service fine dining restaurant. In keeping with the overall theme of the organization, both serve local seasonal produce and use organic ingredients. A satellite food cart serving sandwiches and hot dogs is located in the piazza between the planetarium and the rainforest.

Getting There and Parking: Take I 80 west from Sacramento to the Bay Bridge. Follow the directions from the Academy website or input the address 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118 into Google maps a GPS unit. The alternate weekend directions provided by the Academy save time and will take you straight to the parking garage at the DeYoung Museum which is directly across from the California Academy of Sciences. Street parking is available in Golden Gate Park but there have been some recent issues with car break-ins.