In FY25, the Academy incurred a cash deficit of $7.3M. For the current fiscal year, the cash deficit is projected to exceed $8.0M. This is due in large part to the costs of maintaining our buildings ...

Most of the time, Claude looked as if he was dreaming. A pale body half-submerged in dark water, eyelids slack, body motionless. Visitors tended to arrive at “the Swamp”—a live animal habitat at the ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 7, 2026) — Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 72 new animal, plant, and fungi species in 2025, enriching scientists’ understanding of Earth’s ...

We loved every inch of him. From snout to tail, no part of Claude escaped scrutiny from his adoring fans. Every move (or nap, as was more often the case) was cause for celebration. Even after 17 years ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 1, 2025) — Submissions for the California Academy of Sciences ' 2026 BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition are now open, and will be accepted through March 1, ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 25, 2025) — A new study of coyote movement patterns published today in Ecology Letters challenges previous research that suggests ecological landscape features—like the ...

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 ...

“The Forest Of The Monarchs,” a photo of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán, Mexico, taken by National Geographic Explorer Jaime Rojo won the 2024 BigPicture Grand Prize.

Don’t tell Claude, but he’s not the only long-bodied, sharp-toothed, extremely chill species in Steinhart Aquarium. Lurking in the shadows across from the Swamp exhibit is a misunderstood fish that ...

Monday–Saturday: 9:30 a.m–5 p.m. (last entry 4 p.m.) Sunday: 11 a.m.–5 p.m. (last entry 4 p.m.) Thursday NightLife (21+ with ID): 6–10 p.m. (last entry 9 p.m ...

These jewel-toned lizards may not leap, but they certainly know how to lounge. Draco and Jade, brother and sister, joined the Amazon Flooded Forest exhibit in November 2023 and peacefully coexist with ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 26, 2024) – Love is in the water and hope is in the air for the critically endangered Sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) as a multi-institution collaborative team ...