Review of the Academy of Sciences
Yesterday I went to the new Academy of Sciences with my aunt and my mother! This post is probably only relevant to those in the Bay Area, because most likely only those people have been excited about the reopening. But, still! If you ever go to San Francisco, definitely make time to drop by - though it's not inexpensive. :/ And it was horribly crowded when we went: at 10:30, even the members entrance line was an eighth of a mile long. But that could have been because it was a holiday weekend, so families were taking their very small children. But, do go! It's big, beautiful, eco-friendly, and will hold against earthquakes!
The building itself has, I think, lost some of its cozy charm because all the walls are whitewashed and the ceilings are 30 feet high, so things are no longer tucked into little dark niches. But this is the new age! And it does match the de Young museum across the way; it was really nice to look at the two buildings from the center plaza and go "Ah, yes! Now I remember this part of Golden Gate Park!" The plaza remains the same. The Steinhart Aquarium is on the lower level, and it's deceptively small; you wander around the curving walls and peer at all the little fish (if you're like me, and have this strange, almost OCD compulsion to look at every single tank) - and before you know it, you've seen it all! I did have a problem with the placement of the tanks, because some of them were at the vicinity of my knees, and really, not everyone can crouch or bend down to look at them! It's also a lot more educational and interactive, and has fancy screens and projections that teach you about... I don't actually know. It was too crowded for a closer look.
The giant old sea bass has its own tank (I think it used to live with the alligator gars) big enough for it to swim around in. It looked pretty lively, or as lively as an 80-year-old fish can be. The electric eel is now in a tank big enough for it to stretch out and swim! It used to spend most of its time curled at the bottom in the old tank. I liked that. I am fond of the electric eel.
Sadly we didn't get to check out the planetarium, because all the tickets were sold out. The rainforest bubble is pretty impressive, though. It's so light and open that I forgot it was a bubble sometimes. And it's a controlled entrance, which was bad for standing in the 40-minute line, but good so that you weren't overrun with other people while you were inside.
-- Oh right, one more thing before pictures. The cafeteria! IT IS AMAZING. Also pretty damn expensive, but the food is a huge step above what museums normally serve. For example, I had lamb meatballs over rice. My mother had Moroccan lemon chicken. It was really, really good. I was hugely impressed. There's also a piazza in between the rainforest and the planetarium which sells boxed sandwiches, and a restaurant that you need reservations for. (And that, I saw, serves $17 spaghetti and meatballs. What the hell is it made of?)
The very first picture we took from the entrance. That's the rainforest bubble. It's very shiny.
Inside the rainforest exhibit! The trees are all alive, and it's got free-flying birds and butterflies. Also, smaller cages with reptiles and insects native to several rainforests (ex. cockroaches, chameleons, frogs, etc).
The hallway in which we waited to go into the rainforest. I like taking pictures of architecture, and though I have no idea what those ceiling panels do, I am sure that they do an efficient job of it.
A white male alligator, named Claude! The female in the exhibit was named Bonnie. They definitely updated the tank, because I don't remember a fog machine in the old one, and they only have two alligators now. I don't know where the others went. >: Also, I think the swamp is now deeper than it was before... probably for safety.
The little creature from my icon! There was a gallery in the Steinhart where important administrative people of the Aquarium put up their favorite sea life. They had a preserved coelecanth (I seriously hope that formaldehyde is good, or that'll be ugly in a few years), the contents of a shark's stomach... and this. Let me quote from the sign: "Pacific spiny lumpsucker. Our favorites look like miniature hippos bouncing through space and are possibly the strangest creatures in the sea. Their fins flutter quickly but they are not good swimmers. They spend most of the time near the bottom, clinging to rocks or submerged logs with a single suction cup-like scale."
I liked the personal touch on the Aquarium.
I also like ridiculous frogs, okay. "I AM DANCING"
The refurbished African Hall. It's not so dark and gloomy anymore! And it's not entirely full of dead things: there are living reptiles in cages in between the stuffed animals. But it's kind of tricky to catch, because they sit so still they may as well be dead. xD That was a neat update, I thought.
They also had the cat, bear, and seal statues in the gardens outside! Fond memories of climbing on them. I'm glad they saved the statues. ♥
And the living roof. My dad is waiting for it to leak. I hope not! The view from there was amazing, especially in the sunset.
I approve of you, new Academy of Sciences.
The building itself has, I think, lost some of its cozy charm because all the walls are whitewashed and the ceilings are 30 feet high, so things are no longer tucked into little dark niches. But this is the new age! And it does match the de Young museum across the way; it was really nice to look at the two buildings from the center plaza and go "Ah, yes! Now I remember this part of Golden Gate Park!" The plaza remains the same. The Steinhart Aquarium is on the lower level, and it's deceptively small; you wander around the curving walls and peer at all the little fish (if you're like me, and have this strange, almost OCD compulsion to look at every single tank) - and before you know it, you've seen it all! I did have a problem with the placement of the tanks, because some of them were at the vicinity of my knees, and really, not everyone can crouch or bend down to look at them! It's also a lot more educational and interactive, and has fancy screens and projections that teach you about... I don't actually know. It was too crowded for a closer look.
The giant old sea bass has its own tank (I think it used to live with the alligator gars) big enough for it to swim around in. It looked pretty lively, or as lively as an 80-year-old fish can be. The electric eel is now in a tank big enough for it to stretch out and swim! It used to spend most of its time curled at the bottom in the old tank. I liked that. I am fond of the electric eel.
Sadly we didn't get to check out the planetarium, because all the tickets were sold out. The rainforest bubble is pretty impressive, though. It's so light and open that I forgot it was a bubble sometimes. And it's a controlled entrance, which was bad for standing in the 40-minute line, but good so that you weren't overrun with other people while you were inside.
-- Oh right, one more thing before pictures. The cafeteria! IT IS AMAZING. Also pretty damn expensive, but the food is a huge step above what museums normally serve. For example, I had lamb meatballs over rice. My mother had Moroccan lemon chicken. It was really, really good. I was hugely impressed. There's also a piazza in between the rainforest and the planetarium which sells boxed sandwiches, and a restaurant that you need reservations for. (And that, I saw, serves $17 spaghetti and meatballs. What the hell is it made of?)
The very first picture we took from the entrance. That's the rainforest bubble. It's very shiny.
Inside the rainforest exhibit! The trees are all alive, and it's got free-flying birds and butterflies. Also, smaller cages with reptiles and insects native to several rainforests (ex. cockroaches, chameleons, frogs, etc).
The hallway in which we waited to go into the rainforest. I like taking pictures of architecture, and though I have no idea what those ceiling panels do, I am sure that they do an efficient job of it.
A white male alligator, named Claude! The female in the exhibit was named Bonnie. They definitely updated the tank, because I don't remember a fog machine in the old one, and they only have two alligators now. I don't know where the others went. >: Also, I think the swamp is now deeper than it was before... probably for safety.
The little creature from my icon! There was a gallery in the Steinhart where important administrative people of the Aquarium put up their favorite sea life. They had a preserved coelecanth (I seriously hope that formaldehyde is good, or that'll be ugly in a few years), the contents of a shark's stomach... and this. Let me quote from the sign: "Pacific spiny lumpsucker. Our favorites look like miniature hippos bouncing through space and are possibly the strangest creatures in the sea. Their fins flutter quickly but they are not good swimmers. They spend most of the time near the bottom, clinging to rocks or submerged logs with a single suction cup-like scale."
I liked the personal touch on the Aquarium.
I also like ridiculous frogs, okay. "I AM DANCING"
The refurbished African Hall. It's not so dark and gloomy anymore! And it's not entirely full of dead things: there are living reptiles in cages in between the stuffed animals. But it's kind of tricky to catch, because they sit so still they may as well be dead. xD That was a neat update, I thought.
They also had the cat, bear, and seal statues in the gardens outside! Fond memories of climbing on them. I'm glad they saved the statues. ♥
And the living roof. My dad is waiting for it to leak. I hope not! The view from there was amazing, especially in the sunset.
I approve of you, new Academy of Sciences.