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NightLife: Art Lab
Unleash your inner artist and join us for an evening of creative exploration celebrating the myriad intersections of science and art.
Sounds by Bobby Cosmos
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Two Photon Art
Science Today
8:30p
- Listen in and discover how art and science collide in the world of zines with Tera Johnson of Two Photon Art. Dig into this creative form of science communication and its history of making science more accessible to communities.
Personal Portraits
Swamp
6 - 10p
- Explore the creative process at a live drawing with Berkeley-based illustrator and muralist Nigel Sussman. Examine the artist’s style and technique—recognizable from murals throughout the Bay Area and beyond—and test his imagination with your own impromptu requests.
Creating Culture
Swamp
6 - 10p
- Experiment with petri dish art using quick-drying alcohol ink with the expert do-it-yourselfers from the Museum of Craft and Design. Create and take home a colorful “colony” to decorate your space with novel, biology-inspired artwork.
A few don't-miss NightLife details:
- To help keep staff and guests safe, proof of full COVID-19 vaccination OR a negative test result from within 48 hours of the event is required for entry, and boosters and indoor masking are strongly encouraged. Feeling under the weather? Please NightLife another time! View health and safety information here.
- Last entry into the rainforest exhibit is 7:30 pm—our animals need their sleep.
- Morrison Planetarium is now open at NightLife with 4 showtimes. To maximize staff and guest safety, planetarium passes are required and capacity is limited. Passes are available online in advance for an additional $5 while supplies last to reserve a seat at a 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, or 9:30 pm planetarium show. Please see our FAQs for more details. (Please note: A limited number of standby seats will be available for all showtimes as space allows on a first-come, first-served basis. Food and drink are not permitted inside the planetarium.)
- Beverages are available at various bars throughout the building, but food must enjoyed outdoors or in the Academy Cafe only.
- NightLife is for adults 21+ only. Photo ID required.
- Still have Qs? See our FAQs here.
Music
Planetarium Shows
Discover how a deeper understanding of Earth might help us spot other living worlds light-years away.
Explore the immense scale of the known Universe in this live presentation that leaves Earth far behind.
Upcoming events
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Explore the Academy at night and jump-start 2025 alongside nearly 60,000 live animals.
See what’s revealed once the sun goes down and explore the nocturnal side of the Academy.
Start your weekend early at NightLife – we won't tell! Claude and the rainforest are waiting for you.
Blow a kiss to our African penguins and 60,000 other creatures when you explore the Academy at night.