CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Description

Essentials about the California Academy of Sciences in brief

Anyone with a passion for the natural sciences has a must-do in San Francisco, and that is a visit to the California Academy of Sciences. The Academy of Sciences is one of the most modern and interesting natural history museums in the world and houses, among other things, a planetarium, an artificial rainforest and a large aquatics area.

The mission of the California Academy of Sciences

The Academy was founded in 1853 as a scientific society whose stated goal was “a complete and systematic survey of every corner of the State of California and a collection of its rare and its common products.” The California Academy of Sciences continues to meet this goal today, as it still employs scientists and conducts basic research in many areas of the natural sciences.

The building of the California Academy of Sciences

Since 2008, the California Academy of Sciences has a new home in one of the world’s most modern and spectacular new museum buildings in the middle of Golden Gate Park. The Academy’s old building was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1989. During damage assessment, it became clear that many parts of the building had sustained such extensive damage that a new building was safer and less expensive than renovation. In 2005, construction began on plans by star Italian architect Renzo Piano. In 2008, the California Academy of Sciences reopened.

The new building is a pioneer in economical design that upholds the Academy’s values and focuses on ecology and sustainability. The central element of the architecture is the “living roof,” which has been landscaped with a variety of native plants and eliminates the need for artificial irrigation by collecting and recycling rainwater. In addition, the new museum building incorporates several notable ecological innovations: 60,000 photovoltaic cells generate environmentally friendly electricity, 90 percent of the exhibition space is illuminated by sunlight, large amounts of recycled concrete and steel were used in construction, and the building insulation is made from recycled denim jeans.

The exhibition at the California Academy of Sciences

The Academy’s exhibition is roughly divided into four parts: The main attraction of the new museum building is the four-story man-made tropical rainforest, housed in a dome, with 40,000 fish, birds, butterflies and other rainforest inhabitants. In addition, in the basement are located the Steinhart Aquarium, the Morrison Planetarium in the form of a circular cinema, as well as the Kimball Natural History Museum with the so-called Africa Hall and various temporary exhibitions on a wide variety of research areas.

By the way, if you want to have a great panoramic view of the Golden Gate Park, you can take the elevator up to the living roof of the academy. And last but not least, a little hint on the probably most famous exhibit of the museum: It is called “Monarch” and was the last live captured grizzly bear of California, which was given to the Academy as a stuffed model after his death in 1911. Monarch served as the model for California’s new flag.