Wonderful place to visit with kids. The museum have different thematic areas super interesting to see, the aquarium is super nice and you can see the fish from above in the lobby and towards the glass in the level below. Rainforest is also super beautiful, have many exotic plants and animals on display and big butterflies flying around. They manage to open keeping the place safe following covid guidance and all people was wearing mask and keeping a safe distance.

Not safe. Not enough COVID precautions.We had tickets this weekend.I cannot imagine what the place is like at full capacity. There were 4, yes 4 hand sanitizer stations for the entire museum!Absolutely no control, not a single person was respectful of any social distancing and there were little to no staff that monitored anything.At the 3 points of staff interaction, they were good. I am shocked by the relaxed attitude from a science museum. Exhibits were decent.

Not much crowded for a Halloween Sunday. Properly organized. No panic about the pandemic. Everyone is contributing well to have a safe experience

This place is my daughters favorite part of SF. The Cal Academy doesnt get old. The staff are friendly and engaging. Sometimes we just walk by an exhibit are pulled in to a demonstration or explanation where we are learning. Lunch outside is a plus. Will be coming back time and again.

We were excited to return for the first time in 8 months. Unfortunately, with Covid19 raging across the country, they have decided to pack everyone in like sardines. We felt so uncomfortable in the aquarium exhibit. You would think that social distancing is even remotely enforced. It was not. With the amount of people they let in, many of whom had masks not covering their noses, I wouldnt be surprised if they end up being a virus spreading hot spot this winter.

Always a fun and educational experience! Staff does their best to ensure COVID safety measures. Make sure to make a reservation for the rainforest before you go!!

Great place to take the family. Staff are polite, prices for merch arent breaking your wallet, you can visit every area within 3 hours or really enjoy your visit all day long. If you are going book about a week ahead. Due to Covid tickets are limited and you have to book the entry time in advance. If you plan on going multiple times with your family I recomend the family plus

Our Kids absolutely loved this place when we visited a few years ago. One of the kids favorite spots in San Fran

One of our favorite places to visit in the city. Its family friendly with plenty of places for kids to explore, sit, and play (with a dedicated play area tucked in the back). The cafeteria is delicious, and we try to visit at least once a year. Check Discover&Go to see if they partner with your local library for free tickets. Otherwise keep an eye out for free community days. Just know it gets incredibly busy. But its worth the cost, and the view from the living roof is beautiful.

It was a perfect place back before, dont really know how theyre dealing with covid.

A must-see for adults and children. The Science Museum is big, so set aside about three hours a day to spend it very quiet and getting to know all the rooms. Its really worth it.

Great place to take the kids over the weekend or holidays! Ideally over 4 to enjoy it. The VIP tour is great but young children can’t join those tours due to some of the areas that are visited.

The California Academy of Sciences museum was an absolute blast. Very clean vibrant place with lots of different areas to explore and adventure! I came here with my friend and we stayed their for at least 5 hours wandering around and being in absolute awe in how lovely the whole museum was. We went to two showings in their planetarium and that was the highlight of our trip. Family friendly area bring your children here they would absolutely love it!

Very expensive for what is offered, especially during the quiet times of the year. Often enough its easy to have seen most everything within an hour, though offsets in different displays stretch the time it takes to see most of it. Many displays are interactive (being able to touch smaller exhibits: snakes, starfish, etc), but much is not -- as well as being static. In contrast to the Bay Area Discovery Museum, the outside area doesnt have much to do/look at.The cafe/cafeteria is quite decent, but the price is high unless you are a member (10% off).Variants on membership types really hit or miss the experience, community membership is more limiting than one might think, basically forcing you to come on non-holiday weekdays and non-holiday sundays. Every other day is a black day, requiring advanced membership to enter.The advanced option is far higher in price but gives basically unlimited visitation freedom.However, considering the exhibits dont change much, the best value would be to visit during extra special event days (reindeer visits, holidays, etcl). Of course, your mileage may vary.For either, you may find yourself wondering if multiple visits in a single year is truly worth it.Finally, parking is difficult to get to given the location of the museum and the popularity of Golden Gate Park to its local clientele.It is also expensive.The butterfly garden and planetarium are nice.

Very impressive science center and a full day activity for kids. The rain forest and planetarium are the main extractions but other things as aquarium, Africa and nature center are equally good. Cafe has plenty of options including vegan and vegetarian. Coffee selections are pretty good as well.Parking is street parking mostly as the center’s parking gets full very early.All the shows are super good, the passport to universe and incoming! shows are awesome.

Really kool spot very educational.

There is a lot to learn here. You could spend the entire day exploring. The view at the aquarium was really exciting. The exhibitions are cool. I enjoyed the feeding of the African Penguins and also the Planetarium show.Get the map handy so you dont miss any area. Plan well to know the exhibitions to attend.

California Academy of Sciences is one of my all time favorite places to go. Every time I visit San Francisco I always be sure to make a visit.The entire place never ceases to capture my mind and renew a sense of love in science I remember having as a kid. Tons of exhibits that offer a wide range of experiences.It’s location in Golden Gate Park is perfect and allows you to hop outside and enjoy all the park has to offer and return to the museum afterwards. It is an excellent way to spend a day if you have the time to in San Francisco!Can not wait until my kids are a little older so I can take them! If you’re considering a membership don’t think about it, just do it! Definitely worth it!

Fun for the whole family. $25 to get in or discounts on Group on or internet. They rent out tripods for your i Phones so thats good.Over all exhibits are fun and interactive. This is located near San Francisco.

One of the best place to visit in San Francisco. A lots of things to see here. Well organized and beautiful environment ...

Great place but be prepared to walk a LOT it’s a huge building. They have elevators of you don’t want to take the stairs. We went to the rainforest section first and the butterflies were all over the dome. The aquarium was our next stop and the fish are really cool. The last thing we did was the Africa exhibit and the earthquake simulator. Get tickets ahead of time and it’s not cheap but worth it if you can make a whole day of it.

A lot of different exhibits and galleries to see. Very peaceful and sometimes very busy. Went here with family and it was a busy weekend. Definitely hard to find parking, even in the parking garage nearby. Could easily spend 2 hour here. Definitely worth the money, especially if you have young ones with you.

Visited this place in late January 2020. Its an interesting mix of natural history exhibits, an aquarium, mineralogy, a rain forest encased within a dome, a planetarium and a roof garden. Not exactly a full blown science museum or a zoo but for residents nearby membership offers an interesting set of activities and benefits.Located next to the Golden Gate Park, you probably need two days to comb through these combined.

Please if your are specting to have lunch, snacks, drinks at the academy, please bring your own, academy cafe has terrible and ridiculously expensive food, please bring your own drinks food and snacks.

California Academy of Science Museum is housed inside Golden Gate Park. Wonderful experience. Time flies spent 4+ hours interacting, learning and entertained with a plethora of scientific information. Making me more conscious of my environment and eco system. Highly recommend this museum.

I love this place and always visit it when in SF. Only negative is that it is too small! Great staff! Again must go if you are in town! Perfect spot for all ages.

Amazing for all ages with cool exhibits and plenty of food for all kinds of people with shows in the planetarium and sometimes a person doing a show on stage with kids including your own. There even is an alligator there that has been there since the first time I went when I was 2

It was so much fun, I spent 5 hours touring the entire place: the Planetarium is amazing, the Aquarium is so beautiful, the Rainforest is divine with butterflies, and the Earthquake simulator was an extraordinary experience. Lovely!

Love it but lacks a place to get decent snacks and drinks. Nothing suitable for young kids.

I really enjoyed the aquarium section, it had so many interesting facts about all the different kind of species underwater. I have never seen a live Jellyfish before and today was my first time so that was awesome!!!! I always wanted to visit the Amazon or a Rainforest and I can happily say I got the feeling that I did. I was able to watch just one show today which was called Coral Reef and I have to say it was pretty interesting. Its so fascinating to know that everything small or big has a very important purpose. This place is for everyone and I plan on coming again to finish what I started since I have so much more to explore. Dont miss out on this place, you have to go at least once.

Very fun and educational. I come down a few times a year. Worth the money, and its fun for everyone!

The coolest rainforest experience in San Francisco. My family loves celebrating birthdays, mothers day, school days off, etc at The Academy. You can bring in food if you wish but they have the widest variety of food available in their food court.

COVID update: they have re-opened with new safety procedures starting 10/14 for members and donors and will open 10/23 for public. All tickets must be reserved and paid online.If you have kids get the community or family membership. It pays for itself in three to four visits annually

So much more than just a science museum! The aquarium exhibits were so cool, with all sorts of interesting fishes (including a lungfish). We saw a planetarium show - its not your average planetarium experience, so check it out. Go up to the roof, enjoy the sun, and see all the ways the building is made more sustainable. The Cal Academy has a great balance of information and fun, not being too flashy or too boring. Highly recommend a visit!

Loved the whole thing. but if have limited time.. talk to the help desk about how to maximize time utilisation. Example, even if you have tickets and if you want to see planetarium shows you will have to stand in another line to take the passes their cost is included in the tickets but you still have to get the passes because they do run out of seats.

Visited the Cal Academy. A must visit place for children. Everything here is beautifully made and explained. Children above the age of 2 will enjoy this place, especially the aquarium and tropical forest. You will need one whole day at the academy to view the galleries and watch the 30 min movies. There are multiple shows of 2 different movies hence pls ensure you reach on time and watch all the movies shown. Therere multiple activities to keep the kids engaged.

The California Academy of Sciences is truly a great experience. Whether youre going alone, with friends, colleagues, kids, parents or your date, the California Academy of Sciences has something for you. The academy has a planetarium with amazingly educational and imersive shows that are sure to make you feel smarter by the end.

The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research. It is Californias oldest museum. Now that I’ve given you the history of the museum, let me tell you why it’s one of my favorite places to visit in the city. The California Academy of Sciences is located in largest park in the city, Golden Gate Park. The Academy is in the upper northwest area of the park, next to the De Young Museum and Music Concourse. There is ample parking in and around the park but also a parking garage that patrons can use. The Academy of Sciences is a great place for family, friends, and children especially. There are several amazing exhibits to visit once inside the Academy likethe African Penguin Colony, Osher Rainforest, The Swamp, California Coast, Philippine Coral Reef, and Steinhart Aquarium. The Academy is entertaining, informational, family friendly, and affordable. There are also FREE museum days for San Franciso residents. This is definitely worth checking out!

Excellent museum. Lots of important details you must learned and it is good for experiencing this kind of event.

So much to see in here! The rainforest dome is incredible! So many butterflies!

Fun place to visit with family. A lot to explore. Very clean and very well taken care of.

There was every where something for everyone and we all had fun that day in the Museum.But its definitely to expencive and they could have made a bit more fun stuff for the younger kids and Teenagers there...

What a wonderful wonderful place. Everything in one building they have the animatronic dinosaurs with nice displays they have a jungle museum with lion cheetas and even penguins they have birds and frogs they have a planetarium with sting rays outside it. They have a pretty big aquarium with thousands of fish of all kinds they have fresh water and salt water fish they have a rain forest with a swamp exhibit and alligators, tons of whale, seal and walrus skeletons they have a section with plants on the roof boy its just an amazing place to visit. Definitely the highlight of my San Francisco visit.

This place is awesome! Definitely a must see on SF. So many exhibits which alternate every month or so I believe. Great for all ages!Tip- Thursday nights (Thursdays after dark) are adult nights, so much fun!

There are some unique elements to this museum and many that you will find in most science museums. The green roof, with information about why that project exists was standout for me, as was the aquarium that could be seen from above as you walk around the main level and below at eye level on the bottom level of the museum. Theres also an albino alligator which may or may not be real :). You can tell they really put thought into making the exhibits fun for kids as well as interesting for adults, and you could easily spend a day here with all there is to do. The architecture of the museum was special for me, as the glass lets in a lot of natural light and really creates an open/outside feeling as opposed to other museums which are quite dark.

We have visited the Academy as a family of 5 spanning 3 generations. Each and everyone of us have enjoyed all different kinds of exhibitions. The butterflies in Rainforest are absolutely beautiful. Well worth to spend half a day while visiting the City.

This place is amazing and takes science museums to the next level. Theres a rainforest area with the most beautiful butterflies, an amazing aquarium, a planetarium (with fabulous free shows,) an earthquake simulator, an albino alligator and thats just for starters. The building itself is spacious and light, its a pleasure to navigate. Both the employees and volunteers are so kind, helpful and knowledgeable. Kudos to Bruce who taught us about shark eggs and gave me the low down on albino alligators! There is so much to see and do here, youll need a full day to do it justice.

Great venue. Went for a night live event and it was fantastic. Exhibits were well done and the interactive ones were very good. If in Golden Gate Park this is definitely a stop.

Must see when going to the Academy of Sciences. While not a huge aquarium all of its exhibits are taken well care of clean water and of unique species. Their large saltwater exhibit has a great window that photographs well. Tablets near all exhibits that explain animal habitats and species in each area. Love the weedy sea dragons in the pot belly seahorses. Overall the entire aquarium was very clean and a pleasant experience.

Excellent science museum! I enjoyed it even more than OMSI in Portland OR. Great planetarium, aquariums, taxidermy collections, and mineral exhibits. Worth the entrance fee and then some.

One of the best science academy of the world.

If you have kids and want to enjoy a place for the entire day, this is the place you should go. They have a variety of exhibits such as the rainforest, color of life, an aquarium, planetarium, penguins and much more. They have multiple presentations and if you need a break, they have small play areas as well. If you are from the area, I would recommend a membership and go throughout the year to get the most bang for your buck. If you are just visiting, either purchasing online or commuting there will get you discounted tickets.

A unique place where you can learn simple but special habitat about animals and insects. I thought the rainforest section and the aquarium were the most interesting and just so cool. It’s children friendly environment. There is a place to eat and rest.

Such a cool place to visit, you can easily spend a lot of time here with lots of educational things to see. I loved the rainforest with all the colorful butterflies and the aquarium on the bottom floor. Would recommend :)

Surprisingly small, but well-designed museum. But the prices are out of control. $29 to park in the car park, $220 admission for my extended family, $16 for a small sushi lunch. As a result, I simply cant recommend it unless you can get a discount.

Beautiful science exhibit. Wish they had a day only for adults though. Never in my life have i seen so many screaming kids too young to even comprehend anything and children from tourists who have no discipline, trying to catch and touch the butterflies and banging on the glass with their parents standing right next to them.

Incredible and modern science/natural history museum that includes several large exhibits includes the aquarium, rainforest dome, and other animals. This museum is great for families although lines may get long (especially on weekends). Parking may be hard to find close by (we parked further in golden gate park and walked there). Admission is free with Go San Francisco card.

I loved visiting here! The rainforest is super cool, and passport to the universe in the planetarium was amazing. If you’re visiting San Francisco and doing a day tour on the Big Bus I definitely recommend getting off here and having a look around

I am a tourist from Namibia in Africa. This was my 3rd visit to th California Academy of Sciences. What an incredible place of learning for both young and old! The Rain forest is amazing and the aquarium out of this world. Also loved the Earthquake simulation and the Africa room with the penguins. The Skin Exhibit is brilliant! One could spend days here and still not have seen it all. DEFINITELY a must-visit.

Amazing place to spend a whole day! Good place for all ages. You could enjoy the fresh air and nature outside of the museum. And you don’t worry about parking, of course not cheap with $24. Besides, a little bit hot inside of the rain forest room.

A very interesting place to explore biodiversity and marine life! Would love to visit again.

Good museum for science. Friendly staff. Delicious foods and coffee.

We enjoyed the place. There is something for every age. My kids liked the aquarium and the earthquake experience most of all. There are a lot of tables, so you can bring your own food. Parking in the park is free, but challenging on a weekend.

It was great experience. make sure you get Earthquake and spaces tours, they are free but you need to get a ticket ahead of time. The last show does NOT need tickets in a case you couldnt find any. Every where was line from restroom to the shows, so be patient

Amazing place very spacious but gets very crowded the aquarium is large and well maintained and full of fun things to see the living roof is a fun experience. The whole place is very kid friendly.

I and my friends enjoyed it but the gift shop was pretty expensive!

Could science be made a fun of learning … True.. Leaning is possible only when it is fun and frolic .. Americans have the art of teaching and this museum is a learning centre and the staffs are well behaved... Worth a visit to know a lot about Mother Nature.. Once in lifetime one should visit otherwise living will be only survival

Where can I start? Since the first time I came here with my dad, Ive loved this place. Now we bring our kids whenever we get a chance. The exhibits are always awesome, theres new stuff happening here, bugs, wildlife, aquarium rivals that of the Monterey bay aquarium. Super cool to see Jehovahs creation. Awesome place to bring the kids, and also just to go Id youve never been. Great date place!

Great place to visit and learn at. Its an aquarium, natural history museum and planetarium all out in one. Fantastic set up.

I loved visiting here! The rainforest is super cool, and passport to the universe in the planetarium was amazing. If you’re visiting San Francisco and doing a day tour on the Big Bus I definitely recommend getting off here and having a look around

Loved this place! The planetarium, the aquarium, everything is so enjoyable that I spent at least 5 hours there until they close ️ and it wasnt enough!Tip: if youre gonna buy the tickets do it online! They are cheaper there.What I didnt like is seen so animals in small spaces! Like that alligator, its really sad.

Centrally located in beautiful Golden Gate Park. Packed on most days, but not overwhelmingly so. Substantive exhibits, and a relatiively reasonable admission price (with Ebates cash back, and Groupon). Fun for the whole family is no exaggeration. Spectacular Terrace Cafe. $$$ out of $$$$$. Underground parking lot, or street parking. Wheelchair accessible access. Brail in the elevators. I would recommend Cal Academy of Sciences.

Cool place, but really overrated the best part is the earthquake simulation room and if youre hungry they have really good kitchen lots of tasty food. Cool aquarium, but nothing special

It was fun. I especially liked the earthquake simulator. It was a long line but it was worth the wait. The cafe there looked nice. It was a little expensive but the food looked good.

Amazing place!! Has a rain forest, acquarium in a natural habitat and a lot of stuff to learn. Spend atleast 4 hours to get a grasp of the nature!

Great place to be for adults and kids to enjoy the world of science ! Discover the world here folks !!It was open Thursday night too when I was here.The $100 city pass is worth as it covers this place along with the exploratorium, aquarium and ferry ride. The pass also give 3 day unlimited access to city bus services .Visit and enjoy the time !

Very cool place with a beautiful outside. So many things to see and such a big place. I loved the butterflies.

I really loved this place! My family is not from California and I loved all of the education they had about earthquakes including a real life experience, a movie in the theatre, and kids activities that my 5 year old son and my 11 year old brother loved.Their exhibits were well staffed and there was always someone available to provide education. They even had an area outside area where kids could just run around.Had a great time, I only wish that educational places like this were more accessible for every family. It was more than $100 for one adult and 2 children. The food was pricey too even for the simple cheese pizza.

This place is amazing! There are tons of exhibits and interesting demos. There is a aquarium, butterfly room, and ice scaring to name a few. It is very pricy but worth it! Really fun and exiting. There is a garage for parking under the museum and is mostly full but get there early and parking won’t be a problem.

We just went to Penguins and Pajamas at the Academy of Sciences and it was wonderful!! Such a fun event and the museum itself is so amazing. We can’t wait to come back.

Awesome experience! Enjoyed the aquarium, planetarium and the penguins. The Jellyfish was great. Took public transportation super easy.

We liked visiting Cal Academy. Previous visits we wished there was more for our 2.5 year old to do. This time we found The Curiosity Grove. Great little place for the smaller kiddos to hang out and play!

Good if you are travelling with kids. The 3 Is. Interactive. Interesting. Informative. Exhibits included the planetarium, the African animals, walk-in rainforest (with butterflies, frogs, snakes, macaws, etc), aquarium (eels, giant turtles, penguins, jellyfishes, seahorses, sea dragons. Check out the albino alligator too. Visited the pterosaurs special exhibition too teaching us about flight of these great creatures.

Beautiful aquarium and great place for the entire family. It is part of the academy of sciences so with your admission you can enjoy the beautiful aquarium, the rain Forest Bio dome and so much more.

This is a fantastic place to take any one who loves science. I attended their nightlife event, which happens every Thursday 6-10pm and had a great time. The rainforest exhibit is awesome with vividly colorful butterflies everywhere. Aquarium displays are beautiful with interesting info bites on the side. Do not forget to pay a visit to the ‘Living Roof’ to take in some scenery. My favorite part of our visit was a breathtaking tour around the universe in the Planetarium. Plenty of parking is available in the Music Concourse Garage which is right beside the academy. Public transportation is a good option as well.

Definitely a magical place to visit with kids. Lots of interactive activities. There are also lots of staff members if you have any questions. Wonderful exhibits and moderate temperature throughout. I disliked the parking situation. You had to fight for public and paying parking. Recommend packing in lunches and snacks. The cafeteria is robbery and always busy. Panic expense food hungry choices (thats how youll feel). Id go back but not on a Saturday.

Great place for curious kids and inquisitive adults. The rainforest is a small sample of nature in a glass hall with a swamp at the bottom and aquarium beneath it. Do check out the crocodile on the other side of the aquarium. The planetarium is also great and the shows are meticulously crafted and the one I watched - expedition reef - is undoubtedly the best experience I have in any planetarium I visited so far. Recommend to watch as many shows there as you can. The breathing roof is nice. And so is the area surrounding the academy though that constitutes the part of Golden Gate Park.

Great for place to visit with kids. A total zoo on the weekends. The de young tower across the street is a great side trip (free!).

Very nice place to learn a lot. Especially the rain forest exhibition with the living butterflies is amazing. If you are lucky they land on you and lick salt from your skin. Also the Aquarium in the lower level is very good. Disappointing was the mineral and gem part. Nothing special there and the exhibition isnt worth the word. But all together its a great visit you shouldnt miss!

Great museum; highlights are the rainforest dome, the aquarium (which connects to the dome), the earthquake exhibit, and the planetarium.

My toddler had a lot of fun.

He Cal Academy was tremendous, both for adults and kids! The rain forest exhibit was very hot & humid, and had small enclosures with frogs, birds, lizards, snakes, and much more. The rainforest was two stories, but with a windy ramp, not stairs.The 3rd floor was closed during the visit, so we took the elevator below ground to the aquarium, which was also super cool! So many fish of different sizes, coral, anacondas, tons of other water animals, touch screens with information, a scuba diver show to top it off.Also saw the SF Earthquake Exhibit (which was OK; not worth the big line), dinosaur skeletal bones, Claude the Albino alligator, the environmentally awesome living roof, a water fountain that counts the water bottles filled, jellyfish, rare flowers, and much more.

This is an amazing science museum with various wonderful exhibits to spend an afternoon with your family and friends. Since the admission tickets are not cheap, SF residents should consider an annual pass instead.For those with time flexibility, you can avoid the crowd by visiting during weekdays...

Amazing if you have the chance to visit at night!

Cool place. The planetarium is well made, the shows are fun. I chose Passport to the Universe, which seemed the most basic one, if you want a more advanced study try something else. The animals were even cooler I think, even the skeletons and just the arrangements of the rooms and the aquarium were amazing.

Always a favorite go-to, especially when we have out of town guests! Theres something for every age here. An earthquake exhibit, a beautiful aquarium, a multi-story rainforest, an albino alligator and much more. Local parents - invest in a year pass. We go frequently and my toddler loves it!

This place was *amazing*. The quality and presentation of the educational modules here was exceptionally well executed and the information was provided in a manner that was accessible and understandable by children and adults alike. We were exceptionally impressed by the biodome on the ceiling, the contained rain forest and the breathtaking aquarium located in the basement! Everything about this place was on point, the facility was spotless, the staff was kind, polite, and knowledgeable (as were their youth guides working in the rain forest exhibit). We were throughout impressed and will be visiting in the future, as well as recommending this stop to everyone that will be in the area!

Ive learned 2 love science over the years I never got it in school but every time in a Museum technologies as well just the seeing touching and so on. I recommend it highly ...I didnt get to see the planetarium so cant say anything about that

I recently visited for the first time with family and we had an amazing time! The museum was extremely informative and fun for all ages. We especially enjoyed the aquarium portion and hope to return soon! Would definitely recommend for families of all ages!

Great fun for all ages!! 100% recommend for anyone who is into science, or is open to learning more about the world around us.