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California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

4.4
#1 of 49 in Museums in San Francisco
Science Museum · Hidden Gem · Museum
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Explore one of the world’s largest museums of natural history at California Academy of Sciences. Located in Golden Gate Park, the center offers the world’s only combined aquarium, planetarium, rainforest, and living museum. Ride past tigers and elephants on a simulated African safari or admire tropical animals and vegetation by climbing through the canopy of a living rainforest. Don’t miss the chance to shake things up in the earthquake simulator. Free parking is available for the first 4 hours. By using our San Francisco day trip planning site, you can arrange your visit to California Academy of Sciences and other attractions in San Francisco.
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California Academy of Sciences reviews

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TripAdvisor traveler rating
TripAdvisor traveler rating 4.5
6,005 reviews
Google
4.6
TripAdvisor
  • This is a wonderful area to visit. Beautiful grounds and you can do as much or as little as you want. 
    This is a wonderful area to visit. Beautiful grounds and you can do as much or as little as you want.  more »
  • I appreciate the masking policy given guests stay there for over an hour to tour the museum. I love this place -- it is well maintained! I had been here over 8 years ago and 4 years ago and back... 
    I appreciate the masking policy given guests stay there for over an hour to tour the museum. I love this place -- it is well maintained! I had been here over 8 years ago and 4 years ago and back...  more »
Google
  • General admission is about 30-35 bucks if you have student ID and other applicable discounts. I think the price is fair for what they offer. We bought the VIP tour with private access to the Living Roof to actually see the animal bones that were in the process of being “cleaned” by other little creatures. We got to see collected specimens (huge collection!). I didn’t know about ichthyology until then so it was great if you are interested in science or fish. We didn’t take much advantage of the VIP access as they came with great benefits such as discounts at the restaurant and souvenir stores I believe, but skip-the-line and entrances to the GEM vault or other collections were worth it. And it’s only like $25 per person for the VIP tour. However, I have to be honest that I did expect a bit more out of the VIP tour, and for general admissions: I do wish the planetarium’s image quality to be a bit better, but that’s okay. We’ll come back sometimes when they have new stuffs.
  • my absolute favorite museum i have ever been to. the butterfly exhibit was extraordinary and i loved being able to experience the planetarium show. the jellyfish were absolutely mesmerizing and i appreciated the diversity in sea life. the aquarium was great and i loved seeing the alligator. great for kids and adults. plenty to see, do, and learn.

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