A Visit to California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

California Academy of Sciences , an Eco-friendly structure using green technology

Rain Forest Section

Plants in rain forest

Plants in Rainforest

                                       

Soon after our coming to California our first place of visit is the famous  California Academy of Sciences, where we can see an aquarium, a planetarium and a natural history museum—a sort of three centers at one place. Of course in San Francisco there are many museums like Walt Disney Family Museum, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern art, Musee Mecanique, Cable car Museum etc. But as most children in our batch were interested in watching various types of plants, fishes and animals, we chose this place which is a must see for everyone. It requires almost one whole day to see so many rare and astonishing things here that we have not seen elsewhere. The academy people deserve our utmost compliments and appreciation for their untiring efforts in preserving all these specimens and in promoting the spirit of science and in creating awareness of caring for our environment and other fellow creatures and beings which have their right to live and grow in their habitats. For this purpose the Academy provided suitable surroundings and simulated conditions for all these creatures to survive without any discomfort and troubles.

 This Academy is located at Music Concourse Drive on Martin Luther King Jr.Blvd., in the heart of the city. This institution started as a society in 1853. In 2008 it was designed by the famous Italian architect, Renzo Piano and re-built in a spacious area. It was opened for public on 27^th September, 2008.The building was constructed in eco-friendly style having a spacious area of four lakh square feet. Nearly 26 million specimens are preserved and looked after here by the managing committee consisting of forty one trustees who allocate duties to executive members. This academy is a scientific and educational institution “dedicated to exploring, explaining and sustain life on earth.”Apart from display of exhibits this academy arranges lectures, workshops, field trips and demo classes on bio-diversity, taxonomy, anthropology, marine biology, herpetology, ichthyology and phylogenetics.

Aquarium

Coral reefs at Steinhart Aquarium

Giant clams in coral reefs

Weedy sea dragon in waters of Australia

                             

Fish in the watertank

Various kinds of corals in different colors

Albino Alligator, Claud

Albino Reticulated Python

Cochranella South American Glass Frog

Mantella, madagascar's toxic golden frog

 Kimball Natural History Museum has three sections; The Osher Rain Forest, Aquarium and Africa Hall (the oldest running exhibit). The Rain Forest section is housed under a 90 foot glass dome kept at 82-85 Fahrenheit temperature with 75% of humidity in air to suit the rain forest flora and fauna. Various trees and plants from Borneo, Madagascar and Costa Rica are seen on three floors as we climb the stairs enclosed on both sides by glass covering. Huge palms, mahogany trees, orchids and others with dark green leaves take us into the world of nature filled with so many different kinds of plants and flowers.  Colorful butterflies, moths and birds are seen flitting all around. Under the first floor the Amazonian forest is displayed with flooding waters. One can also see various types of reptiles and amphibians kept in glass cases. Nearly 1600 live animals are displayed here and one is surprised to see so many different kinds of snakes and frogs. In Steinhart Aquarium various types of fishes, corals, crabs, sea anemones, urchins, stingrays, star fish, and snails are displayed. The aquarium is the star attraction of this place. Many children love to see the bright colored fish and multicolored corals and urchins.

African penguins in Tusher African Hall

Stuffed antelope figures in African Hall

Evolution of man (Human Odyssey)

The Tusher African Hall is another place of attraction to see lifelike models of various jungle animals displayed in glass cases. At the entrance “Human odyssey” the evolution of man is shown by display of various human fossils and skulls. The computer animation of the famous Lucy skeleton shows how changes occurred in physical structure of human species in course of time.  The models of African animals like the tiger, the lion, the rhino, the elephant and the antelope are quite realistic and impressive. At one of the hall within a glass enclosure are kept the African penguins which dip and dive in the 25,000 liter water tank.  In the East Wing one can see Foucault pendulum, a huge 16-inch diameter brass ball weighing about 238 pounds hung from the ceiling by an aircraft control wire. It demonstrates the earth’s rotating movement on its axis. In the West Wing many geophysical exhibits are shown in various glass cases. There are nearly four hundred types of various mineral rocks and gems in this section.

Gems and minerals

Amytheist

Butterfly Collections

Saffron Pinch

Blue necked tanager

In the Earthquake section a lot of information is given about the occurrence of earthquakes with details photos and models. The effect of earthquake is practically experienced in the chamber by technological simulation. As we had to hurry to get into the planetarium we did not spend much time there to know about earthquakes. The Morrison Planetarium is one of the largest completely digital planetariums with a spacious dome above measuring about ninety feet in diameter and with a seventy five feet broad screen. The introducer gave a lecture about the theme of earth’s evolution and galaxies with their enormous size and numbers. The appearance and features of Pluto were clearly projected on the screen. But we felt it would be better to give more visual details instead of verbal explanation. Details may be shown on the screen itself.  At the Naturalist Center many books, toys, specimens, printed T-shirts, films and interactive games are available. In the main hall   skeleton of a blue whale is displayed while in another hall the huge skeleton of Tyrannosaurua Rex is seen. At another place the huge skeleton of 87-foot long blue whale is seen suspended from the roof.

Foucault Pendulum weighing 238 pounds

Naturalist Center

Morrisons Planetarium

Flying Dynosaurs

Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton

87 foot long blue whale skeleton

Earthquake Zone

 At the Science Project one can look at the scientists working on real, live research projects and also at several smaller exhibits. But most of the scientific research work is carried out in private labs. This institution publishes a journal called “Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences” to inform people about their latest discoveries and information. In 2011 scientists of this institution went on an expedition to Phillipines and discovered nearly three hundred species quite unknown to science.

This Museum is open from 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and from 11.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. on Sundays. At present the Rain Forest section has been closed from 5^th September to 12^th October as renovation works are going on.  The entry ticket for adults is 35.75 dollars, 30.95 for senior citizens and for those aged between 12 and 17 years and 25.95 dollars for children below twelve years. The authorities may consider reducing the entry fee to facilitate more people coming to this museum and get enough knowledge and awareness in protection of the surroundings and our fellow creatures as well. Visiting places of scientific knowledge is very much essential not only for kids but also for elders as our every day life depends on contributions of science and it is our bounden duty to use scientific gifts properly without damaging our surroundings, climate and other beings too.

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    15th September, 2017                                        Somaseshu Gutala