Family Science

Real Life Indiana Joneses

At the Academy
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a Scientist? Wonder what sorts of adventures they’ve been on? Imagine all the stories they can tell? Well wait no longer because you can meet some of our very own Indiana Joneses every Friday at the Academy. Come meet a real life Indiana Jones! I’m sure they’d love to share some of their exciting explorations with you. They’d be thrilled to meet you all. Come find them every Friday until May 22nd.

Outdoors in the Bay
Do you think volcanoes are cool? Want to learn more about them? Or maybe you enjoy looking at rocks! Well, many USGS scientists grew up loving these things as well and love to share their life as a scientist. Gather the family and visit the U.S. Geological Survey 10th Triennial Open House later this month. Experience the life of a USGS scientist during hands-on exhibits and interact with them too!

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Indiana Joneses Verdaderos y en Persona

En la Academia
¿Se han preguntado alguna vez lo que es ser un científico? Se han preguntado qué tipo de aventuras han tomado? ¿Imagina todas las historias que pueden decir? Bueno no esperen más porque pueden conocer algunos de nuestros propios Indiana Joneses todos los viernes en la Academia. Ven a conocer un verdadero Indiana Jones! Estoy seguro que les encantaría compartir algunas de sus exploraciones emocionantes con ustedes. Estarían encantados de conocer a todos ustedes. Vengan y encuentrelos todos los viernes hasta el 22 de mayo. Este programa sólo es ofrecido en inglés.

Al Aire Libre en la Bahia
¿Cree que los volcanes son padre? ¿Desea aprender más acerca de ellos? O tal vez disfruta mirando rocas! Así, muchos científicos de USGS crecieron queriendo estas cosas así como ústedes y les gusta compartir su vida como científico. Junte la familia y visite el U.S. Geological Survey Open House. Experiencia de la vida de un científico de la USGS durante exhibiciones prácticos e interactuar con ellos también!

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SF Neighborhood Free Days

Yes, they’re back! It’s time for our Neighborhood Free Days! Feel like a VIP at the Academy this srping. Bring your whole family and join us for our spring programming. We can’t wait to see you all!

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Días Gratis Para Vecindades de SF

Sí, están de vuelta! Es hora para nuestro Días Gratis Para Vecindades de San Francisco! Sientese como un VIP en la Academia esta primavera. Traiga a toda su familia y únase con nosotros para nuestra programación de primavera. Los esperaremos!

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International Migratory Bird Day

Calling all bird enthusiasts?! Did you know May 7th is International Migratory Bird Day?! Let’s take this time to learn a little about our feathered friends and celebrate their fascinating journeys, or migrations. Here at the Academy, we’ll be celebrating these beautiful creatures all week long ( May 7th-13th)! All week at the Naturalist Center,you can earn your 2012 IMBD certificate (International Migratory Bird Pass), by playing some neat bird games and using a bird field guide like a true birder. Would you like to test your bird watching skills? On Saturday, May 12th, bring your binoculars, and join the Naturalist Center for a walk thru Stow Lake. You can join them either for the morning stroll at 10am or the afternoon stroll at 2pm.

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Día Internacional de Aves Migratorias

¿Llamando a todos los entusiastas de aves? ¿Sabían que el 7 de mayo es el día internacional de aves migratorias? Vamos a tomar este tiempo para aprender un poco acerca de nuestros amigos emplumados y celebrar sus viajes fascinantes, o migraciones. Aquí en la Academia, nos va celebrar estas hermosas criaturas mucho toda la semana (7-13 de mayo)! Toda la semana en el centro naturalista, usted puede ganar su certificado IMBD 2012 (pase de aves migratorias internacional), participando en algunos juegos de aves y utilizando a una guía de campo de aves como un verdadero pajarerp. ¿Le gustaría probar sus habilidades de observación de aves? El sábado 12 de mayo, traigan sus binoculares y vayan a centro naturalista para un paseo hasta el lago de Stow. Puede unirse con ellos por la mañana a la 10 de la mañana o por la tarde a las 2 pm.

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What to Expect

We’re all very excited for our upcoming Earthquake Exhibit and Planetarium Show opening May 26th! Get a sneak peek of what’s to come. Join us later this month to explore the science of earthquakes and more.

Lo Que Se Puede Esperar

Todos estamos entusiasmados por nuestro próximo exposición y planetario de terremotos con su gran apertura el 26 de mayo! Obtenga un vistazo de lo que está por venir. Únase a nosotros más tarde este mes para estudiar la ciencia de los terremotos y más.

In California we’re lucky, we don’t have to wait for May to see the spring bloom of our wildflowers. Why not join us on our daily Discovery Nature Walk at 12:30pm? A public presenter will take you and your family on a short walk outside the museum to show you plants native to California and discuss their interesting uses. At other times of day, stop by our living roof, which is covered solely in California native plants.

To see how you can use native plants in your own garden, there is a free, self-guided Native Plant Garden Tour on April 15th. Visit as few or as many native plant filled gardens as you like, with locations scattered across San Francisco.

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Earth Day is Sunday, April 22nd. We’re celebrating here at the Academy. There is also a celebration in Civic Center Plaza. To find other Bay Area celebrations, check out the Bay Area list of events.

Take your commitment to our planet and its natural areas to the next level by working togther with your family as you volunteer with Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. There are opportunities for all ages and locations are scattered throughout Marin, San Francisco and the peninsula.

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Our San Francisco neighborhood free days begin at the end of April. It’s a great opportunity to visit the musuem for free without the crowds of the quarterly free days. Stop by to see what we’re doing during our Science of Adventure days March 24 - May 22, 2012. We’ll be highlighting the real-life adventures of scientists at work.

Spring Break is just around the corner. What will you be doing with your family this time around? We’ve had some rainy days, but let’s hope it clears up for a break of fun, exploration, and adventure. Here are some things to think about during your break.

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Vacaciones de Primavera está justo en la esquina. ¿Qué va a hacer con su familia esta vez? Hemos tenido algunos días de lluvia, pero esperemos que se clare para unas vacaciones de diversión, exploración y aventura. Aquí están algunas cosas para pensar durante su período de descanso.

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At the Academy

Let us be your host this spring break! Bring your family to explore our exhibits and our programs. Beginning March 29th, our Specimen Spotlight program, which takes place in front of the Project Lab, will be moving to Thursdays at 11:30am. The focus for this spring will be endangered animals. Come learn more about sea turtles, desert tortoises, and touch a chimp skull! Our Little Naturalist Program for ages 3-5 has a variety of programs going on throughout the month. One of their fun programs, Little Learner’s Lab, allows the little ones to become a scientist in training with a hands-on experiment. Don’t forget to swing by the Naturalist Center and visit their new space, Naturalist Nook, and learn how to identify the most common ants of the Bay Area by exploring the mysterious world of ants.

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En la Academia

Deje que seamos su anfitrión durante sus vacaciones de primavera! Traiga a su familia a explorar nuestras exposiciones y nuestros programas. Inicio 29 de marzo, nuestro programa Specimen Spotlight, que tiene lugar en el frente del Project Lab, se traslada a los jueves a las 11:30am. El enfoque de esta primavera serán los animales en peligro de extinción. Vamos a aprender más sobre las tortugas marinas, tortugas del desierto y toque el cráneo de un chimpancé! Nuestro programa Little Naturalist para las edades 3-5 tiene una variedad de programas pasando durante todo el mes. Uno de sus divertidos programas, pequeño aprendiz laboratorio, permite a los más pequeños para convertirse en un científico en formación con un experimento práctico. No se le olvide pasar por el Naturalist Center y visitar su nuevo espacio, Naturalist Nook, y aprender a identificar las hormigas más comunes de la zona de la Bahía explorando el misterioso mundo de las hormigas.

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What Time is it? Green Hour Time!

This spring break, try a Green Hour. What is a Green Hour? This is a time for your children to have unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. Let them explore at the park, a garden or your backyard. Not sure where to go? With Nature Find you can just type in your zip code and begin your adventure with the natural world.

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¿Que hora es? ¡Green Hour!

Esta primavera, intente un Green Hour. Que es Green Hour? Este es un momento en cual su nino o nina pueden jugar sin estructura y y relacionarse con el mundo natural. Vamos a explorar en el parque, un jardín o el patio trasero. No sabe a dónde ir? Con Nature Find, sólo tiene que escribir su código postal y comenzar su aventura con el mundo natural.

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Free SF Museums

We all know San Francisco is a city with many lovely museums, but it can be difficult to visit during the school year. Nonetheless, it sure can add up during a family outing. One of my favorite resources here in the city is the Check Out SF Family Pass. This nifty pass found at any local SF public library can get you and your family in for free at one of many participating museums, including our very own, California Academy of Sciences. How can you not take advantage of that! There’s also a whole another world where you can find a listing of some of your favorite museums in the city that have no cost admission. I hope you have fantastic time exploring.

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Museos en San Francisco Gratis

Todos sabemos que San Francisco es una ciudad con muchos museos encantadoras, pero puede ser difícil visitar durante el año escolar. Sin embargo, seguro que puede ser costos durante un paseo familiar. Uno de mis recursos favoritos aquí en la ciudad es el Check Out SF Family Pass. Este pase familiar se puede encontrar en cualquier biblioteca pública de SF. Usted y su familia puede obtener admisión gratis en uno de muchos participantes, incluyendo nuestra propia Academia de Ciencias de California. ¿Cómo puede usted no aprovechar! También es un todo otro mundo donde encontrará una lista de algunos de sus museos favoritos en la ciudad que no tienen ninguna admisión de costo. Espero que usted tenga un tiempo fantástico explorando.

We are focusing on the teensy and the grand this March, in honor of NanoDays at the Academy and a helpful website for understanding the difference in scale from the tiny on up to the universe.

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Taking it to the Molecular Level

Starting with the very tiny, NanoDays will be celebrated at the Academy March 24th - April 1st. Head on up to the Naturalist Center to take part in investigations and play games which relate to the role miniscule structures have in our human-sized lives. There will be activities appropriate for all ages. Check the Naturalist Notebook or give the Naturalist Center a call to find out more.

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Nano to the Universe

A seventh grade science class gave Cary Huang the inspiration to start creating the Scale of the Universe 2 (SotU2) with his brother. It’s now an internet sensation amongst my science friends. After a year and half of work, the now ninth-grader and his twin brother Michael released the SotU2 which allows you to explore the super tiny all the way up to the known universe. That’s 10^-35 m all the way up to 10²⁷ m. Isn’t it exciting that a science class started it all?

After exploring the SotU2 with your children, you could also visit Vast and Undetectable a free art exhibition which explores the same ideas as Cary’s animation, the teensy and the grand. Located downtown at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery on Van Ness, see how artists interpret the same information that you explored as scientists. As a family you could pick your own idea from the SotU2 and work as artists to interpret it.

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Solar System Scale

Looking up, our planet will experience an equinox this March 19th in San Francisco and March 20th if you happen to be in London. I used to think that an equinox was when the amount of daytime was the closest to equalling the amount of nighttime, but it turns out that I was incorrect. That describes an equiliux. An equinox is actually a precise point in time when the center of the sun as we see it passes over our equator’s imaginary line projected out into space. For a more detailed explanation see Steve Owens’ blogpost.

You could start a sky journal with your children. Decide together what you will call “sunset” and then record the time of sunset once a week for a month or longer. If you start right around the time of the equinox you will find there’s quite a change every week. The amount of change will slow down as you get closer to the solstice. You could even record where you see the sun setting as well. You will find that the sun won’t set in exactly the same place every week!

An activity to try at home which helps to reinforce the too-big-to-see scale of our Solar System and practice math skills is our Pocket Solar System activity. Teachers report using it with 3rd to 8th graders with success. Younger children may need help with the fractions, but it’s a great introduction to them. The materials list includes register tape (those rolls of paper used for receipts at cash registers), but feel free to make your own one meter length of paper. We’ve heard of educators using a roll of toilet paper, a strip cut from wrapping paper, a strip cut from waxed paper and taped together pieces of regular paper.

image credits:
Family exploring molecule Gary Hodges, Sciencenter
SEM image of sponge Petr Jan Juračka
Hubble Ultra Deep Field NASA, ESA and B. Mobasher
Solar System Planets to Scale NASA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

As you step outside your door, birds will be chirping, flowers are blooming, and baby animals are being born. Love is in the air! The beautiful biodiversity of our natural world is being created. There are many bizarre strategies of attracting a mate in the wild. For example, sea horses engage in a beautiful courtship dance that can last as long as eight hours!

Come celebrate love with us! Just in time for the month of love, our new exhibit, Animal Attraction, will explore the mating stories of some interesting creatures.

Amazing Animal Parents!

Becoming a parent is the pride and joy of many. Teaching your children how to brush their teeth, tie their shoes, play catch and many other things is what makes parenting an important job. In the animal kingdom, parenting and producing offspring is just as important as it is to us humans. Join the Early Explorers Cove every Saturday at 11am to celebrate some amazing animal parents during Animal Tales. I’d like to introduce you to some of them.

• Did you know the male seahorse gives birth to his offspring?! Yes, this dedicated father will birth his children after attracting his mate through a sway of dances. Share this lovely story, Mister Seahorse, with your young children by visiting your local library.
• Female octopuses lay anywhere betweeen 50,00 and 200,00 eggs! She will elaborately group her eggs and will spend about a couple of months caring and protecting her eggs from predators. She will not hunt and only looks out for the greater good of her children.
• The father Emperor penguin will precariously hold the egg for two months during the harsh winter between the top of his feet while the mother looks for food. Take the role of the Emperor penguin in this at home activity. After you’ve had some fun pretending to be Emperor Penguin parents, gather your family and follow the journey of these special parents by watching March of the Penguins.

Share the love

• Take a trip to observe the fascinating colony of elephant seals by visiting Ano Nuevo State Park. Its a great day trip and a fantastic experience. You’re in for a treat! You can observe these large, yet beautiful sea mammals fighting for love and mothers nursing their pups.
• Visit the Naturalist Center from 11am-4pm for more “Love is in the air” programming.

Blooming Flowers

Flowers too depend on this animal attraction. Pollinators such as bees and butterflies help pollinate our beatiful flowers. To help you understand how dependent flowers are to animals, create your own using our flowers seeking pollinators activity. You will learn that the simplest things like colors in a flower are how it becomes adapted to a very specific pollinator. Then take a day trip to the Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park and see the gorgeous magnolias that have beautifully bloomed.