California Academy of Sciences

Visit the only place on Earth with an aquarium, planetarium, rainforest and natural history museum – all under one living roof.

Visit the California Academy of Sciences with Go City®

• With us, there are no entry fees on the day – all you've got to do is show your pass.
• Access to all shows and exhibits – with new, exciting exhibits opening every year.
• Your pass gives you access to many more attractions in San Francisco, so don't forget to check them out.

Perfect for all ages - there's something for everyone to enjoy. Your pass is your ticket to a spectacular science journey and what's more, every visit supports the Academy's mission to regenerate the natural world. 

California Academy of Sciences highlights

Steinhart Aquarium

This unique aquarium is home to 38,000 live animals from around the world, including African penguins, sharks, and stingrays. It also houses a beautiful Philippine Coral reef and mangrove which sits in 212,000 gallons of water, surrounded by blacktip reef sharks, stingrays, and vibrant reef fish – replicating one of the most diverse marine ecosystems on the planet. Other galleries include a 100,000-gallon Northern California Coast tank, a giant sea bass, and an elusive giant Pacific octopus. Don’t miss the Rainforests of the World Gallery, complete with exotic reptiles and a Flooded Forest tank, as well as the Swamp Gallery, which is home to both American alligators and snapping turtles.

Morrison Planetarium

The only all-digital planetarium in the world, Morrison features a state-of-the-art projector that gives visitors the most accurate and interactive digital universe ever created. The dome has a 75-foot projection screen so you can watch movies like Habitat Earth and Fragile Planet, and learn about how life on Earth began with the first stars. Movies change at intervals, so check the museum website for up-to-date showings.

Kimball Natural History Museum

The Kimball Natural History Museum is an embodiment of the Academy's mission to explore, explain, and sustain life. It features immersive exhibits that illustrate the patterns and processes of evolution, it also explores ways we can help to protect that diversity. The Academy’s 150-plus years of research and 20 million specimens make this well worth the visit. Exhibits include the African Hall with mounted lions, zebras, baboons, tortoises, and an entire colony of African penguins. You’ll also see the Foucault pendulum, which shows proof of the Earth’s rotation, and an 87-foot-long blue whale skeleton sitting next to a T-Rex.

Rainforests of the World 

Step into a four-story living rainforest, dripping with water, and full of croaking frogs and noisy birds. You’ll have the chance to look inside a Borneo bat cave, see chameleons from Madagascar, and climb into the treetops of Costa Rica to see free-flying birds and butterflies. One of the highlights is the glass elevator that brings you into the flooded forest of the Amazon, putting you in an acrylic tunnel that lets you walk under catfish and arapaima as they swim above you.

Reserve entry to the Planetarium in order to facilitate physical distancing; do this by scanning a QR code with your smartphone at the Academy and selecting an entry time. The capacity of the Planetarium is limited.

Getting in: proceed to the ticket office window or service desk and present your pass.

Please note: 

• Planetarium shows may not be appropriate for children under 7, and any child under 4 is not permitted.
• For more information about this new policy, head to the official website.

Pass perk 
Show your pass at the Academy Store and save 15% off your purchase.

For more information, visit the California Academy of Science website.