Do partridges live in pear trees? Is nutmeg really a nut? And what do reindeer actually eat? Find out in the Academy’s new holiday exhibit ’Tis the Season for Science, open now through January 16, 2012. Enjoy a suite of wintry festivities and family fun that celebrates the science behind some of our most familiar holiday sights, sounds, and traditions. Highlights include:
 

• A pair of live reindeer
• Indoor snow flurries twice an hour
• A Snowman Theater – an immersive digital dome shaped like a giant snowman, which plays two shows on the science of snow and water in the Universe
• An aromatic Spice Forest – displays of the raw botanical specimens from which we get cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and other holiday ingredients
• Festive programs including quiz shows, live music, dance, and theater performances
• Mounted specimens of the birds mentioned in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” including swans, geese, colly birds, hens, doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

 
Learn more about ’Tis the Season for Science.
 

  Snowman Theater                                       Spice Forest

Now through November 20, 2011 is your last chance to enjoy Sharktober programs at the Academy. Click here to see the schedule of all shark-related offerings, including short films, biologist talks, and more.

And don’t forget to check out the new Shark Lagoon webcam – watch the aquarium’s sharks and rays cruise in real-time from the comfort of your home!