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Summer Science at the Cal Academy in Golden Gate Park

California Academy of SciencesOne of the Bay Area's favorite family summer outings is a visit to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. The Cal Academy re-opened in 2008 in a state-of-the-art sustainable building that features amazing attractions like a natural history museum, aquarium, planetarium, two-acre living roof, a four-story rain forest, and even a 3D theater. It's definitely a must-visit family destination!

Currently on view this summer is Built for Speed. This special exhibit, on view through September 29, showcases the sea's fastest denizens, from mako sharks and humboldt squid to a sailboat designed by America's Cup defender Oracle Team USA.

Also on the don't-miss list is the incredible new movie The Last Reef 3D: Cities Beneath the Sea. Put on your 3D glasses and find yourself underwater in some of the earth's most spectacular underwater settings. You'll not only be amazed, but learn how these environments are as vital to the earth as the rainforests. We all kept finding ourselves reaching out towards the screen to touch fish and other sea creatures—it was that real! The Last Reef 3D plays every hour from 11 am to 4 pm, and is included in your Cal Academy admission.

California Academy of SciencesCalifornia Academy of Sciences

Explore the main floor and meet Claude the albino alligator and other denizens of swamp (including snapping turtles and catfish), see an 87-foot blue whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling, visit the dioramas of the African Hall, and check out sharks and rays swimming in the lagoon. Another must-visit attraction is the Rainforests of the World, a 90-foot diameter four-story dome filled with tropical plants, rainforest animals like frogs, birds, and chameleons, and hundreds of brilliantly colored butterflies (one landed on my back and didn't want to leave).

California Academy of SciencesCalifornia Academy of Sciences

Families can also play in the Early Explorers Cove toddler area, watch the penguins being fed (daily at 10:30 am and 3:30 pm) at the end of the African Hall, and take in a show in the Morrison Planetarium, the largest all-digital planetarium in the world. Planetarium shows take place throughout the day, and are suitable for children ages 7 and up (children under 3 not permitted); tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Downstairs is the famous Steinhart Aquarium, with its collection of aquatic creatures from across the globe. Exhibits include alligator gars, the Amazon basin, a 212,000-gallon Phillipine coral reef, the Northern California Coast, and more. Don't miss the hands-on discovery tidepool, where you can make friends with starfish, hermit crabs, and other residents of California's coast.

California Academy of SciencesCalifornia Academy of Sciences

If You Go

The Academy is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. It's located in Golden Gate Park's Music Concourse area at 55 Music Concourse Drive.

Tickets are $34.95 for adults; $29.95 for seniors 65+, students, and youth 12–17; $24.95 for children ages 4–11; and free for children 3 and under. Since admission isn't exactly cheap, we suggest spending the day at the Academy and perhaps hitting some of Golden Gate Park's other sights, like the Japanese Tea Garden and the de Young Museum (where general admission is free for children 12 and under), too.

Dining is available on-site at the Academy Café, the fancier Moss Room restaurant, and at the satellite food stations in the Piazza and the West Garden. If those are too busy for you, try walking up Martin Luther King Drive to 9th Avenue and Irving Street, where you'll find a seemingly endless selection of family friendly restaurants including Park Chow, Pacific Catch, Gordo Taqueria, and Pasquale's Pizza.

California Academy of SciencesCalifornia Academy of Sciences

To get there, take 101 south across the Golden Gate Bridge, then take the 19th Avenue exit onto Park Presidio Boulevard. Follow Park Presidio to Cabrillo Street. Turn right on Cabrillo, right again on 14th Avenue, and then right again on Balboa Street and cross Park Presidio. (No left turns are allowed on Park Presidio. Turn right on 10th Avenue into the Music Concourse Parking Garage or right on 8th Avenue to drive into Golden Gate Park.

Parking, especially on weekends (John F. Kennedy Drive is closed to vehicular traffic every Sunday), can be a challenge. Street parking on John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drives is limited to 3 or 4 hours (make sure you check the signs). Golden Gate Park's Music Concourse garage is a good option, but it can fill up early on busy weekends. Alternate parking sites and more information can be found on the Academy's website.

For more information, visit www.calacademy.org or call (415) 379-8000.