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Third Wednesday of every month is FREE at the Academy!
Free admission is available to visitors at the California Academy of Sciences on the third Wednesday of every month, presented by Wachovia. Admission is on a first come, first served basis, and early arrival is recommended due to the likelihood of high demand. Also, please note that final entry to the museum on free days is 4pm and, finally, that there will be no members-only entrance on free days.
NightLife at the Academy
Every Thursday night from February 12th through October 29th, the California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park will be transformed into a dazzling mix of music, science and cocktails in a setting that Hollywood galas would die for. It's called Academy NightLife. This will surely be one of the top networking events of the year for the San Francisco Bay Area scientific and academic community. More info from NightLife.
An invitation is extended to everyone in the community by the Academy, provided you are at least 18 years of age, to come and participate in the first academy NightLife event, planned for Thursday, February 12th. DJ Fluid is on the turntables for the inaugural kick-off. The doors open at 6 pm and the event closes at 10 pm.
Morrison Planetarium Light Show: Fragile Earth
Lift off from planet Earth and take a jaw-dropping ride to the far reaches of the Universe. The Academy's initial program, Fragile Planet, is projected onto a 75-foot diameter screen at the Morrison Planetarium and narrated by Sigourney Weaver. Every hour on the half-hour from 11:30 am - 4:30 pm. On Sundays, there is an additional 10:30 am show exclusively for members only. Tickets are handed out on a first-come first-served basis. Visit the kiosk at the planetarium entrance to select your show time.
Coral Reef Dives
Meet a coral reef diver who descends into the exhibit to introduce you to the world’s deepest living coral reef exhibit at the Steinhart Aquarium. Daily 11:30 pm and also at 2:30 pm.
Swamp Talk
Join us at the Swamp to learn about some of the Academy’s most popular animals, including the albino alligator and the snapping turtles. You’ll find out what it takes to care for these amazing creatures, which are native to swamps in the southeastern United States. Free with Academy admission. Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm.
Lectures at the Academy
For many decades the lectures at the Academy have been a prime destination for San Francisco Bay Area students from all the local universities and many high schools. They are also popular with a lot of the San Francisco retired community. The Academy Lecture Series offers something of interest to almost everyone. Learn more about the lecture series here.
Parking at the Academy
Parking anywhere in Golden Gate Park is difficult. Thousands of people from every town and city in California come to Golden Gate Park every day of every year and every one of them wants to park right in front of the door - because of grandma, or because of the baby stroller, or because of the bad knee or whatever the reason. Everybody is an exception in their own mind.
There are not a lot of places to park a vehicle in Golden Gate Park. It's an urban public park for goodness sake. It's not a parking lot for a mall. The best way to get around in the City is public transportation. San Francisco offers you buses, electric trolley buses, streetcars, lightrail trains and cable cars. Here's a link to public transit information for San Francisco's Muni and other local Bay Area transit systems including BART, SamTrans, Golden Gate Transit, CalTrain and ferries.
San Francisco is a green city. It takes a long time to drive all the way through the City, into and out of the park all the way back through the City. It's a long, congested, slow, gas-consuming and polluting stop-and-go drive. Experienced visitors park their cars in a convenient and safe parking garage and then take public transit.
The City of San Francisco offers a number of city-owned parking garages. They are all safe, not too expensive (compared to the private garages in the City) and each one is right next to Muni (San Francisco's public transit system). Here is a list of them for you:
City Parking Garages
Ellis-O'Farrell Garage, 123 O'Farrell St.
Union Square Garage, 333 Post/Geary
Sutter-Stockton330 Stockton/Sutter
Fifth & Mission Garage, 833 Mission/5th St. 415-82-8522
Four-Fifty Sutter Garage, 450 Sutter Street
Chinatown Portsmouth Square Garage, 733 Avenue
St. Mary's Square Garage, 433 Kearny Street, SF
Vallejo Street Garage, Vallejo At Powell Street
Embarcadero Center Garages,
Moscone Center Garage, 255 3rd St./Howard St.
Museum Parc, Third & Folsom St.
Taking Muni Public Transit to the Academy
From a City-owned Public Parking Garage
- Ask for a Muni route map and directions at the office window
From City Hall/Civic Center (Living Bus Shelter)*
You have four options:
-Take the N-Judah from Muni Metro station at Van Ness Avenue and Market Street.
-Take the Muni #5-Fulton bus at McAllister and Polk Streets, or
-Take the Muni #21-Hayes bus at Hayes and Larkin Streets.
-Take the #74X-CultureBus at McAllister and Larkin Streets
*Living Bus Shelter
The Living Roof inspired the makeover of a bus shelter across from City Hall. The bus top has a green, living roof with drought-resistant plants. Aimed to inspire others, the Academy encourages visitors to use public transportation when coming out to experience the museum.
From Ferry Building
-Take the N-Judah from the Embarcadero Muni Metro station at Market and Main Streets.
From Fisherman's Wharf
-Take the Muni F trolley to Market Street. Transfer to the N-Judah at Embarcadero Station.
From Union Square/Downtown
-Take the N-Judah from the underground Muni Metro station at Powell and Market Streets.
-Take the #74X-CultureBus at Geary and Powell Streets.
From CalTrain Depot
-Take the N-Judah from 4th and King station.
From BART
-Transfer from any downtown BART station (Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell, or Civic Center) to the Muni N-Judah OR transfer from Glen Park station to Muni bus #44-O'Shaughnessy.
Market Street Alternative Route
If you prefer not to take the N-Judah streetcar from Market Street, you can take the #21-Hayes bus.
CultureBus
This is a special bus that runs a loop route to all the City's major museums and cultural centers. Take a moment to read: Visiting San Francisco the Green Way: Muni's CultureBus.
Other Remarkable Things to See at Golden Gate Park
The deYoung Museum
The deYoung's priceless collection of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries makes it extremely important to the history and heritage of the United States. Combined with its rare and extensive collection of art of the native Americas, Africa, and the Pacific makes it one of the most important fine art museums along the Pacific Rim and among the most renowned in the world. The deYoung collection chronicles the people of America and the people of the Pacific. It is an exceptional experience! The deYoung Museum at Golden Gate Park
Japanese Tea Garden
A complex of paths, ponds and a teahouse features native Japanese and Chinese plants. Also hidden throughout its five acres are beautiful sculptures and bridges. Makato Hagiwara, a Japanese gardener whose family took over the garden from 1895 to 1942, also invented the fortune cookie. The garden is located just east of Stow Lake, between JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. drives. For Tea Garden admission info, call .
Conservatory of Flowers
Since 1879, locals and visitors have marveled at San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers, the oldest glass-and-wood Victorian greenhouse in the Western Hemisphere and home to more than 10,000 plants from around the globe. It was badly damaged by a 1995 storm and closed to the public for eight years, and is finally open again after a $25 million restoration. The plant life is spectacular. Located beneath the conservatory dome, the warmest and most humid section of the building, is the conservatory's prized century-old imperial philodendron. The east wing houses the Highland Tropics collection and aquatic plants display (including real lily pads that can hold the weight of a small child), while the west side is dedicated to seasonal flowering plants and educational exhibits (the first, all about plant pollination, features 800 live butterflies that will flit about among the visitors.) Signs are kept to a minimum so visitors can simply soak up the beauty. The Conservatory of Flowers is located at the eastern end of the park, just off Conservatory Drive.
San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum
Begun in 1937 with WPA funds and charitable donations, this 70-acre horticultural extravaganza entices the senses with more than 6,000 plant species. The garden of fragrance -- with signs in Braille -- brings flowers alive with scent alone. The main entrance is on Ninth Avenue at Lincoln Way. Also accessible from the Japanese Tea Garden through the Friend's Gate. Free guided walks are given daily at 1:30 pm. The Gardens are open weekdays, 8 am-4:30 pm and weekends and holidays, 10 am-5 pm. Free.
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