[Ninong]

Moving Day for Steinhart Aquarium

The New Steinhart Aquarium in the new California Academy of Sciences building is up and running and the staff have begun moving coral colonies and frags from their old, temporary 20,000-gal reef aquarium on Howard Street to the brand new 212,000-gal reef tank in the gorgeous new California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park.

"Moving day" is expected to last six months. The official grand opening is September 27th. Click on the link above for a 4-minute video clip and photos.

The article in the SF Chronicle incorrectly states that the new reef tank is 15-ft deep, it's actually 25-ft deep according to the official California Academy of Sciences website.







California Academy of Sciences website.

About the new building.

There are a lot of photos and video clips on the Academy's website, including virtual tours. Check it out. It's a lot more than just an aquarium.

[TimH07]

i want one omg!

if only i could scuba dive in my aquarium..... wow

[Ninong]

I forgot to mention that the 212,000-gal reef tank is not going to be their only tank. There's also a 100,000-gal Amazonian tank and a 100,000-gal California Coastal tank, plus dozens of smaller tanks.

Plus a 90-ft dome over a three-story rain forest, a planetarium, and lots of other exhibits too numerous to mention.

I think the roof of the building is absolutely amazing. It's planted with live plants.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Now that's a heck of a lot of DIY Live Rock!!!!

Pretty darn amazing though!

[SouthBayPhoto]

Now that's a set of MH lights! LOL What do you think the PAR is on those babies?!

[Ninong]

I wonder if they intend to put any black-tip reef sharks in there? At 212,000 gallons, it's certainly large enough. I don't think they will but it's something to think about.

Their old reef tank in the original Steinhart Aquarium, before the building was demolished to make room for the new building, was only 6,000 gallons. Then when they moved into their temporary quarters on Howard Street, their new temporary reef tank was 20,000 gallons. They have been receiving coral frags from other aquariums around the country, especially the Waikiki Aquarium, for the past couple of years and they have been growing those out upstairs at the Howard Street building. Every coral in the new aquarium will be aquacultured from donated frags.

For anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area, or anyone planning to visit San Francisco after September 27th, this is a must-see place. The old Academy of Sciences building was a great place, especially to take kids, but it was getting old. I believe it was around 100 years old.

It's located in Golden Gate Park directly across from the De Young Museum and about a block from the Japanese Tea Garden. Another Golden Gate Park attraction is the Conservatory of Flowers. It's really old -- opened to the public in 1879.

[SouthBayPhoto]

I'm going to guess that they didn't do any type of "slow drip" acclimation with these things!

I definitely want to go there. I'm going to wait and make sure they are officially open before I plan a trip out there. Would be sooooo darn cool to see that!

[Ninong]

Admission is not very expensive to begin with more expensive now than it used to be but it's free the first third Wednesday of every month. The San Francisco Zoo is free the first Wednesday of every month.

[Ninong]

The California Academy of Sciences has always been a quality place to take kids of all ages but the younger ones, especially in the 7-13 age bracket, are always fascinated. There are always live, hands-on demonstrations and lectures going on in the various exhibit halls and kids are fascinated by the opportunity to look into a microscope or handle fossils or animal skeleton skulls, etc. Dinosaur lectures always attract lots of kids.

When the new 212,000-gal coral reef aquarium opens to the public there will be a diver inside the tank who will be giving the lecture and pointing to each of the animals he's discussing.

The new Amazonian rain forest exhibit will have live animals and free-flying birds and butterflies. It's three stories tall, covered by a 90-ft dome. A spiral walkway will allow you to walk all the way to the top of the trees.

[Ninong]

Official Evolution Statement

Approved by Academy Science Council March 28, 2007

Evolution is a central concept in modern science, including biology, geology, and astronomy. The California Academy of Sciences, with its broad mission to explore, explain, and protect the natural world, recognizes that evolution is fundamental to understanding biological diversity and is a critical organizing principle for both scientific research and science museums.

In biology, the basic facts of evolution, including the extinction and emergence of new species over time, were understood and accepted by the end of the nineteenth century. Charles Darwin identified natural selection as a primary mechanism driving evolution (that some organisms are more likely to survive and reproduce, thus their genetic traits will be inherited by future generations while other traits will be lost). Through selection, some life-forms thrive, reproduce, and adapt as conditions change, whereas others disappear. The detailed processes that create variation and drive natural selection became evident during the twentieth century with the discoveries of DNA and molecular inheritance. Twentieth century geologists also learned to use radioactivity to determine the age of the Earth (4.5 billion years), and astronomers discovered the expansion of the universe, measuring its age as approximately 14 billion years. Change is an inherent property of stars, planets, and life.

Scientists in many fields use evolutionary concepts daily in their research. In pharmacology and agriculture, these concepts are central to efforts to overcome the evolution of harmful organisms that have become resistant to antibiotics or pesticides. Evolution as the organizing principle for science museums has transformed the eighteenth-century collections of "curiosities" into modern museums of natural history. The California Academy of Sciences recognizes the importance of understanding evolution for both scientists and the public, and we emphasize that evolution belongs in school curricula and textbooks as one of the fundamental concepts of modern science.

P.S. -- I am including the California Academy of Sciences' "official evolution statement" in this thread for the record. It's important that we constantly fight against the forces of ignorance that don't believe in science or that man should strive to acquire wisdom and knowledge.

[Samper]

I hear that Ninong. Since I began my Biology coursework I've been bombarded with evolution daily. I wish everyone had to take a course on it. If we are to be the caretakers of the Earth we are going have to continue researching origins of life. I do wish some professors wouldn't use terms like regressive evolution when it comes to troglobites and troglomorphisms etc but everyone in my department is more or less on the same page.

[Ninong]

Spring smiled on the Bay Area Thursday, bringing bright sunshine that provided Theo Wallace and other visitors to the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum with spectacularly clear views of Golden Gate Park and the city and bay beyond. The 6-year-old San Francisco boy said he thought he could see his house from the observation deck in the museum's 144-foot-tall tower.

The building in the background (right side of photo) is the new California Academy of Sciences building, housing the new Steinhart Aquarium. This is the most current photo because it was just taken March 20, 2008. Don't let the perspective fool you, that's a very large building and a very large open square between the Academy building and the de Young, where the little boy is looking out from the observation deck of their 144-ft tall tower.

[Ninong]

Only 74 Days To Go!

Click on the exhibits on the lower level.

[My2heartboys]

Drat, and plane tickets are so dog gone high!!! Sounds like a definite place that my Kansas born kids are going to have to see!

Won't comment on the evolution topic, though. Sorry guys, but I am on the other side of the table on this one.

Anne

[NanoReefer1]

Originally Posted by My2heartboys

Drat, and plane tickets are so dog gone high!!! Sounds like a definite place that my Kansas born kids are going to have to see!

Won't comment on the evolution topic, though. Sorry guys, but I am on the other side of the table on this one.

Anne

Same

[Ninong]

Free admission opening day, September 27. Wow! I just checked out their new & improved ticket prices. They're more than double what they used to be.

The free Wednesday is now the third Wednesday of the month instead of the first. That's great, assuming the zoo is still the first Wednesday. It was very difficult to take kids to both places in the same day. And besides the one free Wednesday per month, residents of San Francisco get an entire weekend (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) free every month and it's based on your residential zip code. That way everybody won't have the same weekend, making the place too crowded.

San Francisco is a very progressive city. They are making sure that all of their children will have an opportunity to take advantage of this remarkable facility even if their parents can't afford the price of admission.

[Lucid]

I watched the program about the Academy on NatGeo last night. It was great, I can't wait to go and see the full museum.

I wonder if they intend to put any black-tip reef sharks in there? At 212,000 gallons, it's certainly large enough. I don't think they will but it's something to think about.

I believe they said they were going to add a couple. That reef tank is sweet.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Lucid

I watched the program about the Academy on NatGeo last night. It was great, I can't wait to go and see the full museum.

I missed that! Looks like it's on again tomorrow at 3 p.m. (Man-Made: High-Tech Museum). Today's lineup features almost non-stop reruns of the Dog Whisperer.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Lucid

It was great, I can't wait to go and see the full museum.

Remember, the third Wednesday of every month is FREE and they also extend the hours late into the evening. Go in the morning right when it opens and plan to stay all day. It gets crowded in the late afternoon after school lets out. Of course, a lot of schools are on year-round schedules now instead of traditional, which means one-fourth of the kids are on vacation in any given month.

It's a lot more crowded in the summer than at any other time of the year. And, if you're really unlucky, you could be there on a day when two- or three-hundred 9-year-olds are going through on a school field trip.

Children really love this place because of all the hands-on opportunities and the various lectures. It's amazing how attentive kids can be when the lecture is age-appropriate and includes the opportunity to pass around animal skulls or other stuff that kids like to get their hands on.

[Lucid]

Yeah they showed how they built the whole place including the living roof. I think the solar panel skirting/breezeways are a nice look too. I will probably catch it again when it comes on... dang I really need to get a DVR!

Good tips about the crowds. A bunch of kids roaming about might be a bit much. Ya kids do love skulls and bugs and stuff.