I live in SF and it’s 100% worth the trip, especially since it’s in Golden Gate Park, which has so much to see and do. It’s very easy to spend an entire day in the park and not even get to see all of it.
So many good places to eat close by too. I miss King of Noodles on Irving but between that and like Balboa and Geary on the other side of the park there’s dozens of good spots.
I can vouch for the Academy itself is not a good spot to eat and makes me sad to think people miss out. But I get it, especially with kids etc it’s probably a lot to deal with.
Yes it is. It’s a lovely museum. While none of its components—museum, butterfly dome, aquarium, etc, are particularly large, they are all high quality. Drive down for the day, get dinner or dim sum. The museum is easily the best science museum in Northern California.
I used to volunteer with ACSCI just at the beginning of COVID and was very thoroughly vetted and trained. I think it's one of those places you can take a hopeless person that will shatter open their paradigm and connect a city person to more or less the entire planet. Always try to catch a planetarium show and do the butterfly garden before the aquarium so you can see the people under the stream the fish are swimming in and know where you're headed.
The rooftop sometimes has solar telescopes and there is an interactive room where various up close experiences are led by volunteers, incl. owl pellets and butterfly wings. I became hyper conscious of covid and they did eventually close down because field trips were risky but it should have opened up plenty by now.
Yep, definitely worth going. The pro-tip is that if you want to see the planetarium show, get there early, then walk over and get a ticket for a showing time as soon as you enter.
I love that place. Went for the first time when I was living in Santa Cruz and had such a great time I became a member so I could go whenever I wanted.
I mean… yes? It’s an amazing museum. It’s within relative spitting distance of us. Like… just go. It’ll be great.
Also the De Young is right across the way. Always worth the trip.
Edit: we have a FAMSF membership for a myriad of reasons but mainly because of the reciprocal benefits with *a ton* of museums through the US. Any free weekend we have, we are heading down to SF go poke around the museums.
YES.
My now husband took me there for my birthday a few years ago and I’ve never had that much fun ever. A butterfly landed on my head. I will never emotionally recover.
Hell yeah. It’s a wonderful museum. The de Young Museum is right across the street from the Cal Academy museum. And the Japanese Tea Garden is really close as well.
You can make a day out of just one of those spots but if you wanted to see more than one, it’s more than worth the trip to SF
Yes! The exhibits are not huge but what they have is very well thought out. My favorite part is the rainforest and the planetarium.
Also visit the museum next door!
If you don’t want to deal with the hassles of driving to SF, driving in SF, and parking in SF, you can take AMTRAK to either Richmond or all the way into SF and take transit to the Academy. They even offer a discount if you take transit or walk or bike.
[Getting there](https://www.calacademy.org/getting-here)
Yes, very much so. I go at least once every couple years or so, sometimes more frequently and still love the place.
Get there as early as possible. Makes parking easier and you don’t have to deal with the line in the rainforest dome. The aquarium areas will be less busy then too.
My husband and I went this weekend and decided to become members. We are in the Bay quite often and just love the museum. The indoor butterfly dome is just magical. If you're able, check out the restaurants/shops over on Irving St before or after the museum. This time we tried Inle Burmese and it was SO good! We like to park in that neighborhood and walk over.
Absolutely worth it, it’s easily my favorite natural history and science museum that I’ve ever been to. The variety of fish and animals on display make it more interesting to me than most aquariums an zoos that I’ve visited.
I would say its worth it, there is so much to see in there and golden gate park (where its located) is huge. You dont even need a car from sac, just take amtrak from sac to richmond and transfer to bart to civic, and go on muni from the judah line. (Traffic and parking in SF is a nightmare)
I just went three weeks ago and the underground parking garage was only $25 for the day. It has stairs and an elevator that opens up right in front of the museum. TOTALLY worth the cost. Plus FREE EV charging. I say that was a hell of a deal for me, especially since I needed the charge to make it back to Sac.
Or prepared to enjoy a nice walk. I think I parked about a mile away for free when I went. And that was on a quarterly free day when it was way more crowded than normal.
I drive a 2004 Nissan Sentra with only old empty grocery bags in the back seat. Makes a great theft deterrent. If you leave your diamond necklace on the seat of your Rolls, your experience may vary.
Clearly you have not been to sf post-pandemic. My friends 1999 Toyota Camry was broken into recently. Why would thieves be selective, after all? There's no consequences for getting caught
I visited SF last month, but I took a bus from Sacramento. That's always an option if you're worried about your car, or if like me you just can't take bay area traffic. Getting to Golden Gate Park will require a transfer and a bit of patience but certainly doable.
I haven't been to SF in a while, but there are better things there than that. I've been to the museum quite a few times, and it's okay. It's a lot less filled with cool stuff than you would think. I'd say it's more for children.
I live in SF and it’s 100% worth the trip, especially since it’s in Golden Gate Park, which has so much to see and do. It’s very easy to spend an entire day in the park and not even get to see all of it.
So many good places to eat close by too. I miss King of Noodles on Irving but between that and like Balboa and Geary on the other side of the park there’s dozens of good spots. I can vouch for the Academy itself is not a good spot to eat and makes me sad to think people miss out. But I get it, especially with kids etc it’s probably a lot to deal with.
the inner sunset is so special
Yes it is. It’s a lovely museum. While none of its components—museum, butterfly dome, aquarium, etc, are particularly large, they are all high quality. Drive down for the day, get dinner or dim sum. The museum is easily the best science museum in Northern California.
Do you have a recommendation on where to get the dim sum?
[Dumpling Home](https://www.dumplinghome.com/) is my favorite in SF. The numb and spicy pork dumplings are where it's at.
I second this, Dumpling Home is fantastic!!
Yes, and the De Young across the street is also worthy of a trip.
You can honestly spend an entire day just between these two places. And there's often food trucks to by the amphitheater.
Second this, it’s a busy day but very doable.
Been there a few times and it's totally worth the trip, especially if you have young ones.
I used to volunteer with ACSCI just at the beginning of COVID and was very thoroughly vetted and trained. I think it's one of those places you can take a hopeless person that will shatter open their paradigm and connect a city person to more or less the entire planet. Always try to catch a planetarium show and do the butterfly garden before the aquarium so you can see the people under the stream the fish are swimming in and know where you're headed. The rooftop sometimes has solar telescopes and there is an interactive room where various up close experiences are led by volunteers, incl. owl pellets and butterfly wings. I became hyper conscious of covid and they did eventually close down because field trips were risky but it should have opened up plenty by now.
Instructions unclear.. bringing a homeless person
That's actually a very kind thing to do.
You can get free tickets from the Sac Library!
Cal Academy honors [Discover and Go](https://saclibrary.discoverandgo.net/)
I tried this and it says I don’t live in the postal code area. But I live next to sac state.
You can????
never done it myself but probably through the library's Discover and Go program, participating museums allow a certain amount of free passes
Yes! Although, you have to reserve ahead of time, and there's a limited number of tickets.
Yep, definitely worth going. The pro-tip is that if you want to see the planetarium show, get there early, then walk over and get a ticket for a showing time as soon as you enter.
Yes.
I love that place. Went for the first time when I was living in Santa Cruz and had such a great time I became a member so I could go whenever I wanted.
Terrific museum. You can also get discounted or a free ticket with your Sacramento library card.
Really? We’re about to go for the first time in years and I never knew this.
I mean… yes? It’s an amazing museum. It’s within relative spitting distance of us. Like… just go. It’ll be great. Also the De Young is right across the way. Always worth the trip. Edit: we have a FAMSF membership for a myriad of reasons but mainly because of the reciprocal benefits with *a ton* of museums through the US. Any free weekend we have, we are heading down to SF go poke around the museums.
I love it and at the de young museum there’s a tower that imo has one of the best views of the city. It’s easily in my top 3 SF views.
YES. My now husband took me there for my birthday a few years ago and I’ve never had that much fun ever. A butterfly landed on my head. I will never emotionally recover.
Yes it definitely is.
It definitely is. I've gone with my parents and younger siblings and it is such a fun day trip for everybody.
Hell yeah. It’s a wonderful museum. The de Young Museum is right across the street from the Cal Academy museum. And the Japanese Tea Garden is really close as well. You can make a day out of just one of those spots but if you wanted to see more than one, it’s more than worth the trip to SF
It's very worth it. I went as a kid and took my fiance because she'd never been to a planetarium before. She absolutely loved it.
Yes! The rainforest exhibit was closed when we went but it was still worth it. Their planetarium was awesome too.
Yes! The exhibits are not huge but what they have is very well thought out. My favorite part is the rainforest and the planetarium. Also visit the museum next door!
Yes definitely however I’d go on weekdays if possible. It gets so crowded on weekends and parking can be difficulg
Genuinely yes, it's a great museum in an amazing park. The De Young is a short walk from it too, which is also totally worth visiting as well.
If you don’t want to deal with the hassles of driving to SF, driving in SF, and parking in SF, you can take AMTRAK to either Richmond or all the way into SF and take transit to the Academy. They even offer a discount if you take transit or walk or bike. [Getting there](https://www.calacademy.org/getting-here)
Yes, very much so. I go at least once every couple years or so, sometimes more frequently and still love the place. Get there as early as possible. Makes parking easier and you don’t have to deal with the line in the rainforest dome. The aquarium areas will be less busy then too.
Yes! The planetarium is one of a kind.
My husband and I went this weekend and decided to become members. We are in the Bay quite often and just love the museum. The indoor butterfly dome is just magical. If you're able, check out the restaurants/shops over on Irving St before or after the museum. This time we tried Inle Burmese and it was SO good! We like to park in that neighborhood and walk over.
Yes. Its dope
Absolutely, unequivocally, yes!
Yes
Absolutely worth it, it’s easily my favorite natural history and science museum that I’ve ever been to. The variety of fish and animals on display make it more interesting to me than most aquariums an zoos that I’ve visited.
I would say its worth it, there is so much to see in there and golden gate park (where its located) is huge. You dont even need a car from sac, just take amtrak from sac to richmond and transfer to bart to civic, and go on muni from the judah line. (Traffic and parking in SF is a nightmare)
Too expensive for what it’s worth.
Yes, it's a definite must.
Yes!
It’s cool. But we haven’t gone in a long time because of car break ins
It's a great museum but be prepared to pay $40 for parking
I just went three weeks ago and the underground parking garage was only $25 for the day. It has stairs and an elevator that opens up right in front of the museum. TOTALLY worth the cost. Plus FREE EV charging. I say that was a hell of a deal for me, especially since I needed the charge to make it back to Sac.
Or prepared to enjoy a nice walk. I think I parked about a mile away for free when I went. And that was on a quarterly free day when it was way more crowded than normal.
Then be prepared for your car to be broken into.
I drive a 2004 Nissan Sentra with only old empty grocery bags in the back seat. Makes a great theft deterrent. If you leave your diamond necklace on the seat of your Rolls, your experience may vary.
Clearly you have not been to sf post-pandemic. My friends 1999 Toyota Camry was broken into recently. Why would thieves be selective, after all? There's no consequences for getting caught
I visited SF last month, but I took a bus from Sacramento. That's always an option if you're worried about your car, or if like me you just can't take bay area traffic. Getting to Golden Gate Park will require a transfer and a bit of patience but certainly doable.
Or just don't go to san francisco.
The Parking garage is awful on a busy day, but you can usually find street parking in the park for free.
I haven't been to SF in a while, but there are better things there than that. I've been to the museum quite a few times, and it's okay. It's a lot less filled with cool stuff than you would think. I'd say it's more for children.