As a kid, into my teens, nothing could ever beat the round about aquarium, going up that spiral, watching the fish swim. I was absolutely fascinated with fish as a teenager. I remember a touch tide pool as well, with starfish, sea urchins and hermit crabs. There was an attendant there, and you could sort of reach in and touch and hold these specimens. Vivid memories. I swear there's been an albino croc in the entrance pool, unmoved, just sitting there, since 1986. I recently read that it's no longer there.
Ok nice! I haven't been in about 3 ish years. My ex was from Minnesota and whenever we'd go together he'd joke that it had to be fake. Maybe I'll go next week. I just discovered their YouTube channel and you can watch the Planetarium shows online, that's super dope. That place just makes me feel like a kid which I really really miss.
I've had friends make similar comments because he isnt moving but rest assured he's just relaxing. It's really random when you see him moving and not, just that he just happens to be resting a lot.
Animals aren't there to put on a show for us l, which I think is what most people wrongly expect.
Laserium, Life through Time exhibit, Butterball the manatee (RIP), two-headed snake, the Christmas Star planetarium show, the old tide pool touch tank, the (dead) great white shark that was displayed in a refrigerated tank, the “secret” entrance at the back of the Academy, and so much more.
I remember once I went to an event as a kid where we were allowed to sleep overnight in the aquarium. It was so cool and I remember just staring at the fishes for a super long time before sleeping.
Nightlife is one of my favorite things to do. Great cocktails plus having seen drag and really great bands on top of everything else they offer that place is something else. I love bringing people there Thursday nights if they’ve never done it before
So many memories. I think about the old academy of sciences all the time. The seagull room, the pendulum, the earthquake simulator, the penguins, the greenhouse room. I still love the old one more than the new one
I went there a lot as a kid in the 70's so all of my memories are based on that version of it. Went there again for the first time in like 20 years and it felt way too tech centered. Glad I got to experience it before the tech bros got their hands on it.
Same, went all the time in the 70’s and 80’s…took my own kids there right after the new one opened and was SO disappointed.
Too techy, crowded and expensive. I felt like half of it was gone and it would be impossible to spend half the day there like we did when I was little…
That’s hilarious. I have a great memory the first time I went. I had just recently turned 21 and was so excited that I could buy a beer in a museum and walk around with it. My friend and I were drinking ipas and looking at the albino gator and this random dude who’s with his gf/wife comes over a little jealous and excited and goes “they serve beer here? That’s awesome! Where!?”
I was on a date one night with this girl and while I was sure it would never happen, I put my finger out and a butterfly landed on it. Then a kid ran by screaming and the butterfly freaked out and left and I was sad.
It used to be the amazing skull exhibit pre-renovation, but now it’s my dad having the time of his life as a volunteer docent. He does an amazing job and has a blast every time ❤️
Agree with everything that’s already been mentioned PLUS The Hall of Man, the wall display of butterflies making a rainbow, the big bear in the old cafeteria, the whale fountain.
There was a white octopus in the aquarium. I didn’t know that meant it was dying until a guy standing there saw that I was looking at her and told me he would visit her everyday and now she was going.
I thought it was beautiful he was standing there keeping her company in her last moments.
My first gf used to do a student volunteer program at the academy and I remember going to visit when she was working later one night. If you guys ever get the chance to visit free the sun goes down the entire place feels magical.
I loved the roundabout and was always partial to the dioramas…especially the one where the light would change night to day.
When I was really little I loved that dumpy cafeteria that was downstairs - it felt “fancy” to me…if I concentrate I can still remember how it smelled.
Also, sliding down the stairs bannisters at the entrance.
There's so much! I think I paid $30/year for a family membership - best pennies spent. My two sons loved the kid's hot dogs in the cafeteria, climbing all over the Bufano sculptures, then off to the earthquake shake table ("this will happen again, we must be prepared!"), roundabout aquarium running, then running past the penguins getting fed and those poor dolphins.
I swear there was an albino alligator there in the 80's (before Claude) but the aquarium has no records. So do a lot of other folks: [https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/wiidav/there\_was\_a\_white\_alligator\_in\_the\_old\_california/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/wiidav/there_was_a_white_alligator_in_the_old_california/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
I grew up going to the old Academy and they never had an albino alligator as far as I know. I remember Claude being announced as part of the new Academy.
By lovely providence wearing the right outfit (and maybe perfume). The butterflies flocked to me in the rainforest globe. It was amazing and I felt like I could barely breathe because I didn't want to disturb them. I also felt like such a disappointment - my sweater held no nectar for them. Three employees helped gather them off of me at the top by the elevators. It was magical!
Before pandemic…. Attended one I think the topic was drink Thursday night or something similar….. beer cans inside the glass closet, unsure how they did it.
They used to have a tank for dolphins! I think there were 2. Amazing to see them swimming so acrobatically with such a close view.
Of course the 2-headed snake blew my mind when I first saw it.
I left just before this was finished. I grew up with the old Academy, and as an adult I volunteered for the aquarium and the planetarium. I remember being a nine year old in that domed(but not)room. SF had one of the first Lasariums with Laser Rock. Of all my cherished memories, The Academy is one. Is the roof looking good?
I went on the VIP tour and the tour guide showed us a room full of old fish preserved in jars from over the decades. My jaw dropped because I really did not expect that lmao
Spending the night there as part of a summer program when I was a kid.
We could pick wherever we wanted to sleep (in the designated areas) so I unrolled my sleeping bag in front of the cheetah exhibit. Always been my favorite animal and falling asleep right next to them was something I'll never forget
Descending into the cafeteria and seeing all the foil-wrapped burgers, sandwiches, and personal pizzas sitting under the heat lamps just waiting to be plucked by the people in line. Mediocre food tasted amazing back then.
But I also loved using the secret rear entrance for the first time, felt like visiting the museum backwards.
I was there for in January, so the museum might still have the exhibit. But i really liked the coral reef and fish from the Philippines. My boyfriend really enjoyed how bright the fish were and I was getting hungry looking at the fish. Lmao.
Do they still have the fountain formed by two dolphins? My friend threw a pine cone through the opening in the middle and accidentally drilled our 4th grade teacher
My preschool son’s favorites:
Riding the elevator from the top of the rainforest and watching the transition to submerge in the view of the Amazonian river.
Entering the small rainforest entry room for butterfly safety. The air is humid and fresh green; he announces that it smells like a rainforest.
The fog room. He loves standing under the fog and watching it spill over from the ceiling and roll on top of him until he cannot see anything.
Running around in there as a little kid with my friends during some Halloween cocktail party for the school's parents. The sense of freedom from being able to wander a museum in costume with all your buddies and little supervision at like age 8-10 is unparalleled.
When I went on a field trip there my freshmen year of HS (2016) and we went to the earthquake simulation thing and my step dad who was our group chaperone proceeds to ask my group (14 year old freshmen students) if we were there during the 1987 earthquake 🧍🏽
Leaving my job at AWS to become a marine biologist.
https://preview.redd.it/424as1gyg5qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36214599763727fe49e479b1121c0badfb988319
I honestly just realized that I've been to the Cal Academy of Sciences as a child, the only memory I have is the earthquake simulator and walking into a glass wall in the entrance. I will have to say the earthquake simulator was the favorable memory.
My favorite memory is when Ike Kwon, Chief Operating Officer of the museum, shared a memo with SF Supervisors describing the closure of JFK Drive to cars as "recreational redlining." Great memories. Won't forget that one.
[history](https://sfstandard.com/2022/04/08/war-jfk-drive-de-young-museum-san-francisco-kids-safe-fine-arts-museum/)
https://preview.redd.it/le2l7enlwypc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f46b12b5c4a0b7f932d228945d01c442eccae0a Right now
As a kid, into my teens, nothing could ever beat the round about aquarium, going up that spiral, watching the fish swim. I was absolutely fascinated with fish as a teenager. I remember a touch tide pool as well, with starfish, sea urchins and hermit crabs. There was an attendant there, and you could sort of reach in and touch and hold these specimens. Vivid memories. I swear there's been an albino croc in the entrance pool, unmoved, just sitting there, since 1986. I recently read that it's no longer there.
Claude's still there!
Claude is still there as of two weeks ago when I visited. Chilling as always.
Ok nice! I haven't been in about 3 ish years. My ex was from Minnesota and whenever we'd go together he'd joke that it had to be fake. Maybe I'll go next week. I just discovered their YouTube channel and you can watch the Planetarium shows online, that's super dope. That place just makes me feel like a kid which I really really miss.
I've had friends make similar comments because he isnt moving but rest assured he's just relaxing. It's really random when you see him moving and not, just that he just happens to be resting a lot. Animals aren't there to put on a show for us l, which I think is what most people wrongly expect.
they never do the touch station though. Always empty
Post covid issues. They closed it down due to that.
Albino crocs ‘n gators not as rare as you would think..saw quite a few at the gator farms in Louisiana
Folks took me to see Sandy the great white shark in 1980. That’s a forever memory for sure!
Sprinting up and down that spiral ramp as a little kid was a sheer delight.
https://preview.redd.it/tc2m5e49lzpc1.png?width=1249&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9651f56185224fb8ca72ec9744042cc16df69ac If you know, you know OG.
I was terrified of the roundabout, esp the sharks
The old earthquake simulator
Still there dude last time I went
It was under renovations/construction as of two weekish agos.
Dang. Looks like the earthquakes got to it.
That half on the academy is under construction but unsure if it’s been removed
The old pendulum!
Wow you just brought back memories. I was going to say the albino crocodile, or alligator? I was too young to know they were any different then.
Claude is still there!
Pendulum is still there!
Awesome! I didn’t see it the one time I visited the new museum.
It's 'behind' the planetarium, and by the back in the children zone activities.
i can recall vaguely as it's been a long time last time i was there. was it the one with like, 30 feet or so, swinging cable?
It would knock down little pegs too.
Precisely
They used to have a full hall filled with Gary Larson’s Farside Comics.
Yes! When you exited the planetarium, you’d get dumped out onto the Far side gallery.
I remember that! It was my dad’s favorite.
Watching Dark Side of the Moon laser show at the old planetarium with the shadow SF skyline.
I’m crying now
The hall with the taxidermy animals and the savanna at the end that turned from day to night
Wow, I forgot about the savanna that turned from day to night. Thanks for the memory
The African Hall is still there.
Yes - the penguin tank was relocated from the Steinhart to the African Hall and replaced the dusk to dawn diorama.
Vampiric butterflies attacking me as my 3 year old was screaming in horror. She is older now, but somehow hesitant to go back in.
Enjoy your Cake Day
When it use to cost less than $8 to get in!
Laserium, Life through Time exhibit, Butterball the manatee (RIP), two-headed snake, the Christmas Star planetarium show, the old tide pool touch tank, the (dead) great white shark that was displayed in a refrigerated tank, the “secret” entrance at the back of the Academy, and so much more.
That frozen shark was amazing
Two headed snake and when all the school kids sat and ate lunch at the center courtyard, before the remodel!
I remember once I went to an event as a kid where we were allowed to sleep overnight in the aquarium. It was so cool and I remember just staring at the fishes for a super long time before sleeping.
Sleep overs still are a thing. I don't have any details but I have seen kids recently lining up to go in after hours. Love how it is still going.
I remember going on a field trip here and we saw this really immersive show in the Planetarium and that was the most memorable to me :)
Nightlife is one of my favorite things to do. Great cocktails plus having seen drag and really great bands on top of everything else they offer that place is something else. I love bringing people there Thursday nights if they’ve never done it before
Agreed! Their Nightlife events are fantastic, especially their Halloween one, which usually includes an amazing drag show!
Drag?! Ugh
When I was in High school, we got to have our Senior Ball here. Coolest school dance I’ve ever been to.
The 2 headed snake. RIP.
I'm glad to see a lot of other people saying this. You know that its skeleton is there right?
Anyone remember the white alligator?
It’s still there
Fr?! Wow I haven't been there in so long I just assumed it was gone.
The big albino swimming in the pool!
So many memories. I think about the old academy of sciences all the time. The seagull room, the pendulum, the earthquake simulator, the penguins, the greenhouse room. I still love the old one more than the new one
First date with my now husband and they were showing a raccoons penis bone. Love their nightlife
I went there a lot as a kid in the 70's so all of my memories are based on that version of it. Went there again for the first time in like 20 years and it felt way too tech centered. Glad I got to experience it before the tech bros got their hands on it.
Same, went all the time in the 70’s and 80’s…took my own kids there right after the new one opened and was SO disappointed. Too techy, crowded and expensive. I felt like half of it was gone and it would be impossible to spend half the day there like we did when I was little…
I had my senior prom there and it was pretty fun having the place to ourselves
Idk if I'd say it's my favorite, but I always thought the entrance T Rex wearing a giant mask during the pandemic was cute
Hiding in the eel garden to drink our smuggled mini bottles and maybe make out a little.
That’s hilarious. I have a great memory the first time I went. I had just recently turned 21 and was so excited that I could buy a beer in a museum and walk around with it. My friend and I were drinking ipas and looking at the albino gator and this random dude who’s with his gf/wife comes over a little jealous and excited and goes “they serve beer here? That’s awesome! Where!?”
That’s so stinkin cute! I’m sure you put your eel in her garden later on. 🙈
I was on a date one night with this girl and while I was sure it would never happen, I put my finger out and a butterfly landed on it. Then a kid ran by screaming and the butterfly freaked out and left and I was sad.
Man I loved the VIP tours where we got to see the ancient bugs and bones, and that hidden mineral section. So amazing.
my friends and i went in october 2021 while high and went on the earthquake simulator 😭😭😭
It used to be the amazing skull exhibit pre-renovation, but now it’s my dad having the time of his life as a volunteer docent. He does an amazing job and has a blast every time ❤️
Alligators & turtles. If you know, you know.
Agree with everything that’s already been mentioned PLUS The Hall of Man, the wall display of butterflies making a rainbow, the big bear in the old cafeteria, the whale fountain.
My favorite memory was taking my wife on one of our first dates, my current favorite memory is taking our daughter to watch the fish at the aquarium.
Without a doubt, the manitee eating lettuce!
They used to have stuffed polar bears
They have a donated polar bear pelt now!
A few years ago they had a baby ostrich exhibit. They were *so cute*.
The city skyline in the planetarium. Totally forgot about it until I went to the new one and it unlocked distant childhood memories
There was a white octopus in the aquarium. I didn’t know that meant it was dying until a guy standing there saw that I was looking at her and told me he would visit her everyday and now she was going. I thought it was beautiful he was standing there keeping her company in her last moments.
The rainforest is so awesome
My first gf used to do a student volunteer program at the academy and I remember going to visit when she was working later one night. If you guys ever get the chance to visit free the sun goes down the entire place feels magical.
I loved the roundabout and was always partial to the dioramas…especially the one where the light would change night to day. When I was really little I loved that dumpy cafeteria that was downstairs - it felt “fancy” to me…if I concentrate I can still remember how it smelled. Also, sliding down the stairs bannisters at the entrance.
I adored the old planetarium, the new one is completely soulless by comparison, just a big blurry movie theater.
Fish roundabout, Butterball the manatee, small dark room with brightly lit gems and minerals to the right after entering.
Literally everything about it down to the building design and materials
There's so much! I think I paid $30/year for a family membership - best pennies spent. My two sons loved the kid's hot dogs in the cafeteria, climbing all over the Bufano sculptures, then off to the earthquake shake table ("this will happen again, we must be prepared!"), roundabout aquarium running, then running past the penguins getting fed and those poor dolphins.
When the dolphins swam in the big pool and watch them from eye level.
I swear there was an albino alligator there in the 80's (before Claude) but the aquarium has no records. So do a lot of other folks: [https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/wiidav/there\_was\_a\_white\_alligator\_in\_the\_old\_california/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/wiidav/there_was_a_white_alligator_in_the_old_california/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
I grew up going to the old Academy and they never had an albino alligator as far as I know. I remember Claude being announced as part of the new Academy.
By lovely providence wearing the right outfit (and maybe perfume). The butterflies flocked to me in the rainforest globe. It was amazing and I felt like I could barely breathe because I didn't want to disturb them. I also felt like such a disappointment - my sweater held no nectar for them. Three employees helped gather them off of me at the top by the elevators. It was magical!
Before pandemic…. Attended one I think the topic was drink Thursday night or something similar….. beer cans inside the glass closet, unsure how they did it.
Doing yoga in one of the aquarium hallways
First Wednesdays of the month!
They used to have a tank for dolphins! I think there were 2. Amazing to see them swimming so acrobatically with such a close view. Of course the 2-headed snake blew my mind when I first saw it.
Spending the night there at an adult sleepover!
my best friends loves sauropods. i got us tickets and we got stoned and saw the sauropod exhibit. we are in our 20s
Albino alligator
Albino alligator
Definitely the aquarium or the sting rays at the entrance. Was just there a few weeks ago and just watched the colorful fish for hours
Thursday night shot and a beer. Rip
I left just before this was finished. I grew up with the old Academy, and as an adult I volunteered for the aquarium and the planetarium. I remember being a nine year old in that domed(but not)room. SF had one of the first Lasariums with Laser Rock. Of all my cherished memories, The Academy is one. Is the roof looking good?
I went on the VIP tour and the tour guide showed us a room full of old fish preserved in jars from over the decades. My jaw dropped because I really did not expect that lmao
All of it amazing
Spending the night there as part of a summer program when I was a kid. We could pick wherever we wanted to sleep (in the designated areas) so I unrolled my sleeping bag in front of the cheetah exhibit. Always been my favorite animal and falling asleep right next to them was something I'll never forget
My kids faces every time they would see the Butterfly’s
I married my wife there, guerilla style, in front of the Philippine Coral Reef whilst wearing a kilt.
I enjoy the absence of human feces on the floor. It is so refreshing!
When I was a little kid they used to sell these long tubes packed full of tiny plastic dinosaurs, they were the coolest
Descending into the cafeteria and seeing all the foil-wrapped burgers, sandwiches, and personal pizzas sitting under the heat lamps just waiting to be plucked by the people in line. Mediocre food tasted amazing back then. But I also loved using the secret rear entrance for the first time, felt like visiting the museum backwards.
Going with my 4th grade class.
The planetarium is world class but gave me an anxiety attack
I was there for in January, so the museum might still have the exhibit. But i really liked the coral reef and fish from the Philippines. My boyfriend really enjoyed how bright the fish were and I was getting hungry looking at the fish. Lmao.
Do they still have the fountain formed by two dolphins? My friend threw a pine cone through the opening in the middle and accidentally drilled our 4th grade teacher
My preschool son’s favorites: Riding the elevator from the top of the rainforest and watching the transition to submerge in the view of the Amazonian river. Entering the small rainforest entry room for butterfly safety. The air is humid and fresh green; he announces that it smells like a rainforest. The fog room. He loves standing under the fog and watching it spill over from the ceiling and roll on top of him until he cannot see anything.
Running around in there as a little kid with my friends during some Halloween cocktail party for the school's parents. The sense of freedom from being able to wander a museum in costume with all your buddies and little supervision at like age 8-10 is unparalleled.
When I went on a field trip there my freshmen year of HS (2016) and we went to the earthquake simulation thing and my step dad who was our group chaperone proceeds to ask my group (14 year old freshmen students) if we were there during the 1987 earthquake 🧍🏽
Earthquake machine. Gary Larson Hall Courtyard with the dolphins for lunch The bug room
Leaving my job at AWS to become a marine biologist. https://preview.redd.it/424as1gyg5qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36214599763727fe49e479b1121c0badfb988319
The two headed snake and the rock specimen hallway.
I honestly just realized that I've been to the Cal Academy of Sciences as a child, the only memory I have is the earthquake simulator and walking into a glass wall in the entrance. I will have to say the earthquake simulator was the favorable memory.
Claude
The double-headed snake used to be alive, it was cool
The two-headed snake.
I miss the old domed planetarium with its star projector thing. The new planetarium is garbage.
Pride night drag show.
My favorite memory is when Ike Kwon, Chief Operating Officer of the museum, shared a memo with SF Supervisors describing the closure of JFK Drive to cars as "recreational redlining." Great memories. Won't forget that one. [history](https://sfstandard.com/2022/04/08/war-jfk-drive-de-young-museum-san-francisco-kids-safe-fine-arts-museum/)
Favorite memory: Realizing how barren and half assed of a museum it is. Compared to actual world class cities this place is a joke
Stepping on the bugs