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What's On at The California Academy of Sciences
Exhibits, Lectures, Programs and Events
December 2002
Skulls Ongoing through fall 2003
X-Ray Ichthyology Ongoing through fall 2003
Village Children Ongoing through fall 2003
Dennis Anderson Photos Opening: November 28, 2002
Photo Contest Winners Closed
Powers of Ten Closing January 5, 2003
Run To The Far Side®
The 5K and 10K Run To The Far Side® is a Thanksgiving weekend tradition
that pays tribute to the zany cartoon creations of Gary Larson. It is
the only race where herds of costumed cows, chickens, squid, cavemen,
and assorted Far Side fanatics compete side-by-side with serious athletes
in a beautiful jaunt through Golden Gate Park. Costumes are a race tradition
in the 5K, with a costume contest following the race. Those more interested
in slimming their waistline after their Thanksgiving feasts are invited
to join in the 10K run.
Sunday, December 1, 8:30 am
Pre-register: $20 for members /$25 for non-members; $30 for all on race
morning
Fees support environmental education and research programs at the Academy
and include free admission following the race.
-Lectures-
The Origin of Modern Humans - While fossil evidence suggests that
modern human anatomy evolved in Africa between 150,000 and 50,000 years
ago, these earliest modern Africans were behaviorally indistinguishable
from contemporary non-modern people and the Neanderthals of Eurasia. Drawing
on his recent book, The Dawn of Human Culture, Dr. Richard Klein discusses
his idea that modern behavioral advances may have been triggered by a
neural change in brain organization rather than size. Booksigning to follow
the lecture. In collaboration with the Leakey Foundation. Thursday, December
5, 7:30 pm, $6 members/$8 non-members.
-Field Trips, Seminars & Workshops-
Under Starry Skies at Pepperwood
Stay up late and survey the night sky at Hume Observatory, located at
the Academy's Pepperwood Preserve in Santa Rosa. Instructed by astronomer
Darryl Stanford. Adult Field Trip-Saturday-Sunday, December 7-8, 5 pm
Saturday-9 am Sunday (Rain Date: January 25-26) $65 non-members/$55 members
The First Microscopes
See what the first microscopes were like, how they were used, who used
them, and what they saw. Instructed by historian John Dillon. Adult Seminar-Thursday,
December 12, 7-9 pm $25 non-members/$20 members .
-Kids: Things To Do -
Children's Story Time - ongoing
Story Time takes place in the Skulls exhibit at the California Academy
of Sciences each Saturday at 10:30 am. Children ages 3 to 7 are welcome.
Free with admission
Bluegrass in the Traditional Style - True Blue, a California bluegrass
band "steeped in the soul of Bill Monroe and the rhythmic feel of
Flatt & Scruggs," offers up a lively sampling of the fast-paced
string band music known as bluegrass. Saturday, December 7, 1 pm
Annual Holiday Concert -Members of the Deutscher Musik Verein brass band
return to the Academy for their annual concert. Join us in celebrating
the joyous sounds of the season. Saturday, December 14, 2 pm
Make a Skull Examine real skulls and then make a simple machine
skull model of your own. All ages. Saturday and Sunday December 14 and
15; 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm
How Do They Do That? How do animals locate prey without seeing
it or hearing it? Or swallow prey bigger than their heads? Explore animal
senses by looking at skulls. Friday and Saturday December 27 and 28; 11:30
am and 1:30 pm
Bare Bones Take a crash course on recognizing animals by
their skulls alone. Examine human, hyena, turtle and rodent skulls, learning
important details used by experts to compare species. Sunday December
1,8 and 29; 11:30 am and 1:30 pm
Bird Skulls Meet a live toucan, touch real bird skulls and
explore avian skull design. Thursday December 26; 11:30 am and 1:30 pm
Cats and Dogs Explore the design, function, and adaptations
of feline and canid (dog) skulls. All Ages. Wednesday, December 4, 11:30
am and 1:30 pm
-Exhibits & Happenings -
Skulls
Ongoing through fall 2003
Skulls includes almost 1,700 different dead heads -- ranging from monkeys
and giraffes to warthogs and rats to bears and dolphins. Created by Academy
staff, this exhibit is festooned with 860 sea lion heads in a 93-foot-long
undulating display. Skulls shows visitors what the study of human and
animal skulls can reveal about behavior, injury, disease, evolutionary
adaptation, and more. This strange and stunning display will captivate
young and old alike.
X-Ray Ichthyology
Ongoing through fall 2003
Prepare to look at fish in a whole new light. X-Ray Ichthyology captures
forty-six fish from the Academy's ichthyology collection on X-ray film.
Blown up and backlit, these large-format photographs transform scaly swimmers
ranging from piranhas to guitarfish into eerie, luminescent works of art.
Village Children
Ongoing through fall 2003
See faces of children from around the world, in villages both rural and
urban. This collection of photographs is a tribute to communities that
allow people to live and work in a space of human dimensions and shared
values. Village Children is a traveling exhibit of photographs by the
noted photographer Dr. Philip Rasori. This exhibit will be on display
in the Academy's Cafe opening October 12.
Dennis Anderson Photos
Opening: November 28, 2002
Dennis Anderson presents portraits of life on the San Francisco Bay. From
glowing undersea creatures and sunset scenes to commercial fisherman and
cargo handling, Anderson's work captures the Bay as an intersection of
nature and commerce in still photographs. Get a glimpse of San Francisco
Bay through Anderson's photography exhibit on display at the Academy in
Wild California Hall opening November 28.
Powers of Ten
Closing January 5, 2003
Come visit a place where the farthest reaches of the Universe and the
familiar features of your own back yard are just a few steps and a few
zeros apart. Using a series of photographs based on the landmark film
of the same name by Charles and Ray Eames, Powers of Ten explores 44 powers
of ten, beginning with 1026 meters (the size of the known Universe) and
ending at 10-18 meters (the size of the smallest known subatomic particles).
At each station, videos and objects from the Academy's vast research collections
allow visitors to investigate scientific discoveries relating to different
powers of ten.
Nature Discovery - ongoing
Each year the California Academy of Sciences offers children, families
and adults more than 200 field trips, workshops and classes focusing on
science and the natural world. Explore tide pools in Marin, discover birds
in Golden Gate Park or learn how to draw and paint animals in Steinhart
Aquarium.
Steinhart Aquarium
Watch live sharks, alligators, penguins, hundreds of fish and a living
coral reef at Steinhart Aquarium. Steinhart Aquarium houses over 600 varieties
of aquatic life in 165 individual tanks. Open ocean fish swim around you
in the 100,000-gallon fish roundabout (feedings take place at 1:30 pm
daily). Penguin feedings take place at 11:30 am and 4 pm each day. California
Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park Open 365 days of the year
Free Wednesday
The first Wednesday of every month is free, all year long! The museum
stays open until 8:45 pm on free Wednesdays - at 5 pm step into Morrison
Planetarium for a free half-hour concert.
Wednesday, December 4, 10 am - 8:45 pm California Academy of Sciences,
Free
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