I finally got a chance to visit the newly remodeled and revitalized CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES in Golden Gate Park over the weekend....and it was great! My mom was up visiting from San Diego and she joined Nina and I as we finally made the effort to check out the new Museum. The crowds were reasonable ( apparently it's been an INSANE wait to get in for months and months... ) The architecture and design of the place struck us right away...very modern, green, and cool.
Right away we saw the resident Albino Alligator who lives in a big swamp pit there along with giant snapping turtles. Wandering through the beautifully designed and multi-leveled RAINFOREST was particularly exciting.
In it, one is surrounded by butterflies, birds and amphibians of all sorts...it had a very magical and ethereal effect, although the heat and humidity combined with the crowds made it a little more challenging...
We cooled off, though, as we descended beneath the enclosure into a vast web of aquariums, which were populated by all kinds of strange fishes, amphibians and reptiles...tons of great reference for my upcoming DerekMonster Annual 2009...
Afterwards, we climbed to the beautiful Living Roof and enjoyed the views of the park and of the neighboring and recently rebuilt De Young Museum...
The Academy is a great spot to visit if you're in the Bay Area, and it was well worth the $25 price of admission....I'll be going back there for sure.
4 comments:
Wow. Looks they've really changed this place. This used to be a favorite haunt of mine when I was a kid and my grandparents lived up the road from the park.
Might be fun to check it out the next time I'm on an extended visit to SF.
In the meantime, we've got the tar pits and Natural History Museum down here in L.A. but I think this place is probably bigger than both those places combined.
Great place to bring a sketchbook, for sure!
25 bucks to get in? Why I remember when...*( insert grouchy old man grumble sound here )
Great photos Derek! Looking forward to seeing the new place.
Amazing Photos! The Albino Alligator is amazing! I'm very adamant about making a trip to San Francisco Asap! Thanks for posting!
Great photos Derek! Looking forward to seeing the new place.
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