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’Tis the Season for Science
This holiday season, your winter wonderland is in the heart of San Francisco. Frolic under indoor snow flurries, learn about animal life at the poles, and meet two impressively antlered reindeer in the East Garden.
‘Tis the Season for Science: Life on Ice, the Academy’s annual holiday exhibit, explores the remarkable adaptations that allow Arctic and Antarctic flora and fauna to thrive in such extreme ecosystems.
This year, you can marvel at one such live animal without having to travel to the tundra: See how reindeer are uniquely equipped to migrate incredible distances each year—on foot, contrary to popular belief…
Open daily through January 5
Please note our special holiday hours:
Christmas Eve (December 24): 9:30 am–5 pm
Christmas Day (December 25): 11 am–5 pm
New Year's Eve (December 31): 9:30 am–5 pm
New Year's Day (January 1, 2020): 9:30 am–5 pm
December 26–30: Open late until 6 pm
The reindeer are back!
Celebrate the return of the “nomads of the north!” Sporting the largest antlers relative to body size among all living deer species, these majestic mammals (also known as caribou) migrate vast distances every year. Learn more at Reindeer Rendezvous, daily at noon.
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Why ice is nice
Investigate the survival strategies of the plants and animals that call some of the planet’s most hostile environments home—and see how you stack up next to life-size models of polar bears and emperor penguins.
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Fun in the flurries
From twice-hourly snow flurries in the Piazza to reindeer encounters in the East Garden, a mix of hands-on programs and live performances will entertain and educate audiences of all ages. See program details below.
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Season’s screenings
Get cozy inside Snowman Theater—a giant snowman-shaped digital dome theater—for Roaming with Reindeer, a kid-friendly short film about how reindeer are specially adapted for life in frigid northern latitudes.
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Holiday Gift Guide
There's snow place like the Academy for holiday shopping. Browse our top picks for everyone on your list!
Discover why the Academy's special holiday visitors are called "Nomads of the North." Daily, 12 pm, East Garden.
Watch a festive performance featuring tap-dancing penguins and snowflakes. 12 pm and 2 pm select December dates.
’Tis the season to stuff those stockings and shop locally with a merry marketplace curated by SF Bazaar.
Join us for an interactive storytelling of Ukrainian folktale "The Mitten." Mon-Fri, 10:15 am, Science Today.
Waddle on over for an interactive program about penguins and their amazing adaptations. Daily, 11 am, Piazza.
Explore all the cool properties of snow through hands-on experiments and demonstrations. Weekends, 10 am-4 pm.
Come say aloha to island vibes this new year with a live ukulele performance. January 5, 12 pm and 2 pm.
Scuba Santa plunges into the Philippine Coral Reef tank during this very merry dive show. 11:30 am, Dec. 12-25.
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