Science of Academies
Where's Waldo: can you spot SFBaby?
Where's Waldo: can you spot Sutro Tower?
For starters, the entire family actually made an abortive attempt to visit on the first free Saturday after it opened in September. Unfortunately for us, the entire city of San Francisco seemed to be waiting in a line that was literally a mile long that day, so we opted to do something else and come back another time.
We carefully planned this week’s visit on one of the free Wachovia Citibank Wells Fargo Wednesdays. Although SFDad is far from a philistine, the Academy is one of the most expensive museums in town (at $25 for a single adult ticket!), so it was worth waiting until the third Wednesday of the month to get in without having to buy a ticket. (Props to all of the bankrupt banks for financing our visit!)
Unfortunately, most of the neighborhood also seems to have had the same idea.
We got to the park at 10:30, and finding parking along JFK was challenging. When we finally dropped off the car and sauntered up to the museum entrance, we found that there was a long line running all the way from the museum doors up to JFK. We had to cheerily wait more than hour and a half (in the sun) to get in.
In what seems to have been a minor miracle, SFBaby was not at all perturbed by the wait. For all that time, she was hanging out (literally) in her Bjorn. SFDad was a bad dad that morning because he forgot to bring actual toys for the baby; after a few desperate minutes, we quickly found that she loved his jingly car keys, and that kept her busy for another hour.
By the time we got inside, the tickets for the Planetarium show were already all sold out for the entire day. I’m not sure if the Planetarium is any good or not, but if we go again on one of the future free days, I think we’ll need to get there no later than 9 am in order to snag one of the tickets. (The museum opens at 9:30.)
If you’ve been waiting a long time to get inside, you will also probably be hungry once you get there, and I think I understand their strategy now. Admission is free…but sandwiches will set you back $8.50. If you want to be really cheap, don’t forget to bring your own food.
As for the museum itself, SFDad thought that it was well done, and it feels much brighter and more open than the old Academy. We started in the nice Galapagos exhibit, and while it wasn’t quite the same thing as being there, it was presented well.
The biodome was warm and interesting, but again, not quite as fun as being in Costa Rica. The living roof also felt a bit gimmicky, but at least it had a nice view.
Our favorite part of the building was the new aquarium. (This was also SFDad’s favorite part of the old Academy of Sciences, but this was before SFBaby’s time.) SFBaby was probably too young to “get” most of the rest of the exhibits, but she was certainly entranced by the fishes, crocodiles, and other underwater creatures.
Overall, the museum was nice but not exceptional. Until SFBaby gets a little older (and possibly even then), I think I’ll have a hard time justifying the entry fee…but if you can stand the wait, it’s definnitely worth going on one of the free days! Just remember to go early.
Tags: academy of sciences, baby bjorn, bad dad, bjorn, free, philistine, San Francisco, wednesdays
It sounded great but your critique was exceptional. Thank you -SFDad
I admit that my reaction would have been much more receptive if the price of admission had been, say, $12 rather than $25…