Sep 18, 2008 7:50 pm US/Pacific
Calif. Academy Of Sciences Offers Sneak Peek
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
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New California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park.
CBS
Alligators at the revamped California Academy of Sciences won't swallow you but the museum's rain forest exhibit just might.
The academy, which will open to the public Sept. 27 with a free day, let media and some academy members in Thursday for tours of the new building, which houses the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium and national history museum.
Rainforests of the World, one of the museum's many exhibits, is set in a glass dome. Visitors can walk up a ramp that snakes through trees as some 40 birds of varying species fly free.
"When you visit a rain forest, it's as if you're being swallowed up and consumed," said Chris Andrews, director of the Steinhart Aquarium, who added that rainforests are always changing.
Following about a decade of planning, the new academy will open with everything from African penguins and an albino alligator named Claude to a 2.5-acre living roof and the world's deepest living coral reef display.
"If you can pass the 7-year-old test and get a high five and an 'awesome,' then you've succeeded," said Greg Farrington, executive director of the academy, referring to a child's recent reaction to the museum.
He said academy exhibits explore the origin and nature of life while educating visitors about sustainability.
From the main floor of the academy, visitors can look down on the Swamp exhibit, home to alligators, including Claude, several snapping turtles and fish.
The swamp has maintained its shape, but is now deeper and has a mid-water viewing area, said Brenda Melton, assistant curator of the Steinhart Aquarium.
Among the aquarium's other exhibits is the Philippine Coral Reef, a 212,000-gallon tank with more than 2,000 fish. The tank is the world's deepest living coral reef display, aquatic senior biologist Charles Delbeek said.
Other highlights of the academy include the Islands of Evolution exhibit, which has a first-edition copy of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species," and the African Hall exhibit.
Terry Gosliner, senior curator of invertebrate zoology, said penguins were added to the African Hall exhibit to bring "vitality and life."
The exhibit has a total of five live-animal displays and also explores the continent with dioramas and technology.
Outside the academy, members lined up, waiting for a first-look inside the new building.
Jane Childress, 91, and her daughter Dinah Childress, 65, both of San Francisco, said they were excited about the new planetarium, among other museum exhibits.
"It looks fabulous," Dinah Childress said of the academy, which has a living roof and exterior walls mostly made of glass. "We've been waiting for this for a long time."
Robert Tischer, 64, of San Francisco, and his sister Diane Tischer, 52, who was in town from Long Island, N.Y., said they were looking forward to seeing the new Steinhart Aquarium.
Regular admission for adults is $24.95. Admission is $19.95 for kids 12 to 17, seniors older than 64 and students with valid identification. Children 7 to 11 are $14.95 and those 6 and younger are free.
The Academy of Sciences will also be free every third Wednesday of the month.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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