California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
Mon-Sat: 9:30am-5:00pm, Sun: 11:00am-5:00pm
$$$$
museums, fun-paid-activities
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The Academy of Sciences is our favorite place to visit in San Francisco, be prepared for non-stop fun!
The California Academy of Sciences is an amazing attraction packed full of exciting learning opportunities. They are a research and educational facility with many initiatives to restore the natural world and educate the public on the natural world. With a planetarium, aquarium, rainforest, and natural history museum along with special exhibits - all under one roof!
We have taken day trips to San Francisco from Sacramento to visit the museum, but we feel we haven’t spent quite enough time exploring. I would recommend a full day at the California Academy of Sciences if you can fit it in. The aquarium and rainforest are a must-see for little ones and adults alike. Visit these first if you think you may run out of steam towards the end of the day or around naptime. The Steinhart aquarium features over 40,000 live animals, and the displays are ingeniously positioned so even little children can see everything. The rainforest is housed in a giant glass sphere inside the museum. You enter through the bottom and then follow the spiraling ramps to the top, all the way viewing butterflies, birds, and reptiles in a man-made natural environment.
The planetarium is a 75-foot dome, also within the main museum building. Typically, there is a tour of the universe show and a rotating show on a different topic. Please note that children under four are not allowed in the planetarium.
The California Academy of Sciences is an incredible place to learn about our natural world and all the wonder and mystery it holds. I highly recommend visiting!