Rock Fund Program

• Homes for Fish | Monday-Thursday at 10:15 am *Offered November-February *
  What makes the California Academy’s coral reef a good home for fish? Students will explore through close-up observations of aquarium animals, creative play, rhyme and song.
   
• Nature's Collections | Monday-Thursday, 10:15 am and 11:30 am
  What is a scientific collection and how are the items within it selected? Students begin in the outdoor classroom with a visit from an animal character that likes to collect things. Then, students take on the roles of explorers and curators that find and arrange their own nature collection. Finally, students closely examine a collection made by a scientist. Please note that this program is held outdoors. 

• Rainforests | Monday-Thursday at 10:15 am and 11:10 am *Offered November-February*

  Rainforests are home to a multitude of animals, plants, and -- shhh, it's a secret -- chocolate! In this program, students look closely at various specimens and tell each other stories with fun props as they explore how rainforest animals help cacao grow. Please note the Rainforest will be closed from August 21- November 17, 2023 and May 7- May 9, 2024.
   

• Get Outside! | Monday-Thursday at 10:15 am and 11:30 am *Offered Sept-Nov and Mar-May*

  How do bugs in Golden Gate Park choose their homes? With hands-on, outdoor exploration using real scientist tools, students will become Habitat Scientists and collect information to better understand the diversity within small habitats of Golden Gate park. Please note that this program is held outdoors.

• Engineering | Mondays and Tuesdays at 10:15 am and 11:30 am 

  Students take on the role of engineers who are working with community members from India Basin to design a shoreline that is safe for people and wildlife. Students use table-top wave tanks to investigate ways in which water moves in the bay, and then test out their designs to see how well they stand up to flooding.
   

• Geology | Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:15 am and 11:30 am

  Students become geologists and are asked to advise the city of San Francisco on 1 of 3 locations to build a water recycling plant. Teams of 3 use a variety of scientific skills and tools to conduct a series of investigations, gathering evidence (e.g. stability and erosion) and then, as experts, arguing for or against their specific geological site.

As part of the Rock Fund Program, we have the ability to pay for buses on behalf of San Francisco Unified School District sites for which transportation is a significant barrier to attending an Academy field trip.

Because of the high cost per bus, and the unknown volume of school buses available in San Francisco on any given day, we ask that teachers from schools near Golden Gate Park save our limited scholarship fund for sites that exist at a distance from the museum.

We encourage nearby schools to consider walking to the park or taking MUNI, which is now free for youth without any tokens or cards! We are happy to mail MUNI tokens to your school site for teachers and adult chaperones.

Each spring, the Rock Fund Program hosts several Family Science Nights at the museum, inviting San Francisco elementary students to bring their entire household to the museum for an evening of science fun.

Multiple school sites are invited to each event, often clustered based on similar geography or language needs.

The Rock Fund Program team will be in touch with your school site in late 2023 if your school community is invited to an event in spring 2024 (if not, we'll catch you during the subsequent school year!).