California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences
4.5
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The world’s only aquarium-planetarium-rainforest-living museum. Come nose-to-beak with penguins and parrots, watch sharks and sting rays cruise beneath your feet, and feel the spray of the California coast. Fly to Mars (and beyond the Milky Way!) from the safety of your planetarium seat, take a virtual safari in African Hall, or climb into the canopy of a living rainforest. Face your fears—and an albino alligator—inside the Swamp, and meet scientists as they return from research expeditions around the world. From the depths of a Philippine coral reef to the outer reaches of the Universe, it's all inside the California Academy of Sciences.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Admission tickets
from
$23.00
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Address
Neighborhood: Golden Gate Park
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See what travelers are saying

  • Bianca travisan
    Maringa, PR2,408 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing
    This museum is amazing! serious! you can stay there for hours and hours, interactive exhibitions about everything you can imagine! Highlight for the greenhouse with the forest, aquarium and the "live" ceiling. Tickets around USD 39.00 (adult) and if purchased on the site it is around 3 dollars cheaper than at the ticket office
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 26, 2024
  • GrandTour34398601256
    4 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    I liked the earthquake machine the best
    Expensive. At $40 it is really costly for a family. There is lots to see and I understand the price because what they have takes a lot of upkeep. While the building is handicap accessible, the rain forest is not. Unfortunately, you cannot start at the top and work your way down.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written August 17, 2024
  • dustythoughts
    Manchester, Connecticut2,250 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Stuffed with wonderful living exhibits
    I've been to San Francisco several times, and am disappointed that this was my first time visiting this stupendous living museum, as it was a glorious experience. The entrance fee is a bit steep ($43/person for adults), but it's absolutely well worth the price. This place is truly a living museum - it has a fascinating rainforest exhibit with living birds and butterflies, an aquarium with live animals, and a super-cool natural history museum (we loved the African Hall). The planetarium was also fantastic, although please note that you need to make a reservation for one of the shows. We enjoyed just wandering through the museum to take in the exhibits at our own pace.
    Visited October 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 14, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles6,068 reviews
Excellent
3,906
Very good
1,411
Average
516
Poor
134
Terrible
103

Trina D
Orange County, CA1,282 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
My husband and I took the bus from out hotel to Golden Gate Park on a rainy day to check out the California Academy of Sciences and de Young Museum. We didn't have tickets so we waited in line to get to the ticket window. While there, I was searching online for some possible discounts. Score! I found one and we were able to use it.

They are still doing timed entry so we chose the next hour time slot to enter. We walked across to the de Young and got admission there as well. We wandered around looking at art before checking out the cafe. Once our time slot opened, we walked back over the the Academy to enter. It's huge! It was our first time and it was hard to decide on what to check out first. You definitely feel like a kid again with all that was going on. They have dinosaurs (natural history museum), a planetarium, an aquarium, and a rainforest. Oh my! We just picked a direction and headed to the aquarium. I saw a line for the planetarium and decided to put us in for a timeslot later that day. The aquarium is quite large. They have penguins, jellyfish, and loads of fish. We saw the albino alligator in the center enclosure. We weren't sure if it was real but he did move his arms. The dinosaur skeletons were the best. We saw a geode exhibit too. We didn't quite make it into the heart of the rainforest but we felt like we made a dent in what we saw. The California Academy of Sciences is ideal for your inner curious child or if you have kids they should go too. We had a great time. We also popped across back to de Young for more art while waiting on our planetarium timeslot and had no issues with reentry with our stamped hands.

If you have a few hours to kill in SF, this is a great spot to check out. Definitely look for discounted admission because it'll save you some money too!
Written January 31, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tim B
Pontiac, MI6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021
We visited the Academy because it was one of the options for our City Pass, and we were very happy with everything we saw. Plan your visit ahead of time and know what you want to see because there is so much. The Planetarium requires a checkin for your timeslot so make sure you set that up first so you can enjoy the rest of your time going through the other exhibits. The Rainforest module has a pathway that spirals up to the canopy where you take an elevator down to below the water. We were more impressed with the aquarium here than the Aquarium by the Bay. It has more tanks, sectioned and specialized areas, and more room overall which made it appear less crowded.
The roof is unique, and it was nice to go up and cool off after being in the rainforest section, but you are limited to a section in the center, it isn't a park for picnics, but was peaceful.
Written September 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gary D
101 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
This place has the WOW! factor going for it. We spent most of our time in the OSHER Rainforest, being mesmerized by the butterflies which seemed to want to be friends with us. There is so much more to see there than this which we did not explore. Being of that age, we got a senior membership which made the pricing pretty acceptable and will enable us to return several times.
Written December 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jaimielaura
California36 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2024 • Family
Don’t bother with the penguin and pajama event. You pay $132 for the overnight. It includes sleeping on a dirty floor, skeleton crew, either paying full price for dinner inside or eating a bag dinner outside, 2 hours in the evening to really see the museum before you are funneled to your dirty floor to sleep on, dirty (not cleaned from a full day of use) bathrooms, then sleep with lights on, then woken up at 6 AM for a horrible breakfast that is included, then shuttled out by 8 AM.

My point is, just pay $32 for the regular ticket and enjoy it during the day. The overnight is gross and a hassle.
Written April 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

aaron
Northampton, UK53 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019
Don't rush through this site. Take your time and enjoy the science and wonders around you.
People tend to rush through and just look at objects and pictures but there is so much more available than that. There are pop up demonstrations and exclusive exhibitions and although this was a single visit I am sure these change throughout the year so people continue to return.
I loved the time clock and the aquarium section was a nice touch didn't know that was there until a bit later! What really did it for me were the different planetarium shows. These are state of the art presentations and compared with the UK ones this blows the out of the water! I had heard how amazing they were but didn't know how good they actually are until we visited.
The restaurant food range is very good, so much so that it took us a while to choose a meal. It was expensive for what it is but that is normal for locations like these as they cash in quite a few $$ to keep the place going. There is a free water dispenser located by the cutlery area.
Written May 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Czar Emmanuel
Manila, Philippines10,221 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Friends
Compared to other museums I've been to, this place is quite small and with limited collections. However, I found it very interesting that descriptions are in different languages (including Filipino!) and that in its aquarium there's a particular area dedicated to the Philippine reefs, demonstrating the richness of the Philippine seas and aquatic life. Good job on this! 😀
Written August 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kelsey H
Baltimore, MD98 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
Lots to see here! My husband and I enjoyed it, our adult friends enjoyed it, and there was plenty to keep our 2 year old running around to see. It was pouring rain during our December visit so we were grateful to have an indoor activity that we all enjoyed. Our only complaint was the price. I know not every city is going to be like Washington DC and have free museums, and for locals the ticket packages looked great but for a one-off visit we almost didn't take the chance on this museum because the cost was steep. Overall I'd recommend if cost isn't a concern.
Written January 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

gusfamgoes
Holden, MA290 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Family
We’ve visited many science museums in our family travels around the country and were excited to see this one given all of the positive reviews, especially here. But, honestly, for the very high admission price, the experience just doesn’t justify the cost.

The rainforest is great, a definite highlight. The aquarium is fine, but not on par with many others we’ve been to. The penguins are fun. But, beyond that, there’s not much to see. We arrived at 11 on a Sunday when it opened, expecting to need the full six hours. We left before 3. For less than four hours worth of entertainment, the value just isn’t there.

Yes, the planetarium is included in the ticket price. But the show was just average - fine, but not on par with shows we’ve seen at other facilities.

To add insult to injury, all over the facility they have signs saying “Want to see this? Take a VIP tour.” For what they’re charging for general admission, everything should be included. It’s insulting to be shook down for another $20 every time you turn around.

Save your money and visit the far better (and less expensive) museums in LA, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, New York....
Written February 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Oh no, Gus fam! While that's a difficult review to respond to, we're wondering if you may have missed experiences such as the Naturalist Center (where you can touch, examine, and ask questions about hundreds of specimens), our sparkling Gems + Minerals exhibit (featuring 400+ dazzlers from our Geology collections), the Living Roof, any of our daily special programs—from dive shows to live-animal encounters—& more. (And just as an fyi, many of the other museums you mentioned actually screen the award-winning shows made by our own planetarium team!) Either way, we wish you & your family lots of wonderful future adventures.
Written February 24, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

kumtux
Vancouver, WA545 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
Go early and enjoy your visit! Tickets are timed entry, as are visits to the planetarium and rainforest/aquarium. Wonderful place for families and natural wonders for every interest. Lots of live exhibits in the rainforest and aquarium. Much of the museum pays tribute to the flora, fauna and geology of Northern California. Paid parking is available beneath the building. Food is also available within the building.
Written October 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Elaine Travels
Rainier, OR41 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Family
My 14 year old daughter and I visited. Great experience. We took the VIP Tour- well worth the extra cost! Our tour guide, Chad, did a great job stuffing a whole lot of very interesting information into an hour long tour. We got to go up on the roof and learn about the history of the Academy and of the construction of the building. He did a great job of setting up a kind of running dialogue that started in the roof with the description of whale bones, then went into the building with us as we looked at the skeletons of Orca and whales. He answered all of our questions and was a fantastic ambassador for the Academy.
When our tour was over we went to two shows at the planetarium - Expédition Reef and Galaxy Passport. Both were quite good and we got the pick of the seats with the VIP pass- very cool perk!
The exhibits are all well curated and presented in a welcoming atmosphere by staff and volunteers who are knowledgeable and engaging. The rain forest and Golden Silk Spiders we’re very cool.
Even the food in the dining areas was good!
Great day trip destination.
Written January 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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California Academy of Sciences - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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