To say that the building that houses the California Academy of Sciences is an impressive work of architecture, is as much of a truism as saying that day is light and night is dark. However, beyond the partitions and walls that make up this masterpiece, its true value is what is inside, representing all the richness of the earth’s ecosystems.
This makes walking through the galleries of the Academy a double pleasure. Because on the one hand you can enjoy both the aesthetic feeling of the huge structure built by Italian architect Renzo Piano – who was also responsible for such impressive works as the Pompidou Center in Paris and the Whitney Museum of American Art – while also feeling the animal instinct that we all have inside of us resonating with the 40,000 examples of the various species that inhabit the planet.
The Academy of Sciences is to be found in the city of San Francisco, right in Golden Gate Park. It is not hard to find. Once you are there it is almost impossible to miss it, rising up in waves from the ground, as if it had always been there. It looks like a series of hills, covered by unbelievably green grass. It is enough to tempt you to run across the grass with your arms wide open, feeling the wind caress you. However be warned – don’t do it. These hills are in fact the roof of the building.
This roof covers an area of 10,000 square meters, and as well as protecting the interior from the elements, it also has another equally important function. It provides thermal insulation, reducing the need for air-conditioning the interior of the building. It also catches rainwater which is used to water plants as well as for other services.
This high tech landscape provides shelter for the Academy’s true treasure, the exhibition halls, the research center, the aquarium, planetarium, aviary and 3D cinema. All of these areas comply with the Academy’s three functions: exploration, explanation and protection.
The planetarium is located within an enormous cupola and provides visitors with views of astronomical spectacles, even during the day. Alongside there is a second cupola where you can encounter tropical rainforest as tall as a four storey building, inhabited by birds and butterflies that fly free within its glass dome. The skeleton of a whale is also on display in this hall, as well as various other species threatened by climate change. And in the lower part is one of the building’s most impressive displays: the area dedicated to the marine world, where you will find the largest coral reef in captivity as well as a tank housing 2,000 species of fish.
The new face that Renzo Piano has given to the California Academy of Sciences, founded in 1835, allowed the institution to provide space for a larger number of animals (40,000 in total, as already indicated) six times more than there had been room for up to last September when the new building was officially opened.
Even the most critical of biologists will be surprised at the variety of species on show: sea dragons, giant octopus, sharks, Amazonian piranhas, bats from Borneo, penguins from Africa, turtles, butterflies, birds … It is no exaggeration to say that the new Academy is the best natural history museum in the world.
The really interesting thing is that visitors will not only be able to mix with the animals, but also to take advantage of different technological resources that will help them experience interaction with them. For example, digital productions, multimedia shows and interactive games allow visitors to appreciate a digital montage of the world never before seen. You can also “catch” butterflies in a virtual net, star in an ecological video that you can immediately stream on the internet, as well as using a cell phone to take part in a treasure hunt inside the Academy.
While the visitors are enjoying themselves, the resources that they provide through purchasing their tickets contributes to financing research projects sponsored by the Academy. The institution supports 46 of the world’s leading scientists and hundreds of researchers working in 11 research disciplines. So the Academy does not just provide the world with a place to enjoy the wonders of our planet, but also a facility for the development and extension of scientific knowledge in order to find new ways to protect the earth against mankind’s destructive activities. So a visit isn’t just a fantastic adventure, but also a fun way of making our own individual contribution towards the search for a better future.
California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Dr.
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
Telephone: (415) 3798000
www.calacademy.com
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