Check out the Academy's daily schedule of activities, programs, shows, and events.

What happens on Earth’s surface is directly related to its interior. About 4.6 billion years ago, Earth formed from a hot cloud of dust orbiting a blazing sun. As the planet cooled, dense elements ...

Movement in narrow zones along plate boundaries causes most earthquakes. Most seismic activity occurs at three types of plate boundaries—divergent, convergent, and transform. As the plates move past ...

Divide class into small work groups of four to six students each and provide each group with an Insect Habitat Card and a set of art supplies. Each student will need an Invent an Insect worksheet.

The Swamp is best known as the home of Claude, the startlingly white Alligator mississippiensis who's become one of the Academy's most famous residents. Go below for underwater, eye-to-eye views of ...

Learn about our charismatic African penguin colony from an Academy biologist. Daily, 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

At 25 feet deep, the Philippine Coral Reef tank is one of the deepest and largest indoor display of living coral in the world. Under the surface, hundreds of fish mingle with eels, anemones, starfish, ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 19, 2024) — Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new animal, plant, and fungi species in 2024, enriching our understanding of Earth’s ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 20, 2022) — In 2022, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 146 new animal, plant, and fungi species to the tree of life, enriching our understanding of ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 15, 2022) — California now has two new scorpions on its list of species, thanks to the efforts of two keen-eyed high school students from the Bay Area and the California ...

SAN FRANCISCO (June 8, 2015) — Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences are celebrating World Ocean’s Day with a slew of brand new marine discoveries—more than 100 species that are likely ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 8, 2022) — Though there are hundreds of species of fish found off the coast of the Maldives, a mesmerizing new addition is the first-ever to be formally described—the ...