Press Center

Browse the latest news, fact sheets, and images from the Academy’s Press Office.

Featured Releases

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A man rides his bike through a baobab forest in Madagascar

A man rides his bike through an iconic baobab forest in Madagascar. (Brian Fisher © California Academy of Sciences)

New research prompts urgent call from scientists to protect Madagascar’s unique biodiversity

Experts from more than 50 organizations, including the Academy, review current state of biodiversity on island.

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Cactus bees in a mating ball

"Bee Balling" by photographer Karine Aigner, BigPicture 2022 Grand Prize Winner

BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition now open

World-renowned international photo competition awards awe-inspiring wildlife and conservation images.

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The California Academy of Sciences will leverage Picturae's conveyor belt technology to digitize 1 million CA botany specimens

Picturae’s state-of-the-art conveyor belt systems and technology will enable the Academy to digitize specimens ten times faster than before, generating roughly 4,000 images per day.

California Academy of Sciences Receives $2.4 Million to Digitize 1 Million California Botany Specimens

Democratized access to collections data will help guide conservation and management decisions across the state.

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Drawing of a Steller's sea cow

A drawing of a Steller's sea cow, an extinct marine megaherbivore. (Biodiversity Heritage Library, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Academy researchers reveal how extinct Steller’s sea cow shaped kelp forests

Using a novel Past-Present-Future approach, the researchers uncovered the "sea cow effect" on kelp forests.

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Releases

Harper Forbes, Lauren Esposito, and Prakrit Jain search for scorpions
Science & Sustainability
Bay Area high school students describe two new scorpion species with Academy researcher
August 15, 2022

Identified on the community science platform iNaturalist, the species add to California's biodiversity

California poppy
Education
California Academy of Sciences Receives $2.1 Million to Support California Science Education
July 6, 2022

Academy awarded $2.1 million in state budget funds to support Thriving California Environmental Learning Plan

Community scientists identify seaweed using iNaturalist app
Programs & Events
Coastal bioblitz to provide a living snapshot of sea life along California’s epic coastline
June 14, 2022

Annual community science effort returns for its seventh year of documenting coastal biodiversity in California

Coral biologist Alejandra Hernández in a submersible during a Hope for Reefs expedition
Science & Sustainability
California Academy of Sciences’ Hope for Reefs initiative endorsed by UN Ocean Decade
June 8, 2022

Hope for Reefs joins global network of Ocean Decade partners dedicated to reversing the decline of Earth’s ocean

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Several male cactus bees form a mating ball on the ground

"Bee Balling" by photographer Karine Aigner, BigPicture 2022 Grand Prize Winner

Programs & Events
Winning Images from the Academy's annual BigPicture photography competition announced
June 8, 2022

BigPicture Photography Competition announces Grand Prize winning image

A bloom of blue blubber jellyfish spotted off the coast of Sydney.
Programs & Events
City Nature Challenge records over 1,690,000 wildlife observations in a single weekend
May 9, 2022

Annual City Nature Challenge surpasses 1,690,000 wildlife observations in its seventh year.

Philippine Coral Reef exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences
Animal News, Science & Sustainability
Scholars seek greater collaboration between zoos, aquariums, and natural history museums
April 21, 2022

By working together, animal data from living and scientific collections can better inform conservation

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A large-scale model of an orchid mantis demonstrates her camouflage

A large-scale model of an orchid mantis demonstrates her camouflage in the new Bugs exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences. (Kate Whitley © 2016 Te Papa)

Exhibits
Bugs opens May 27 at the California Academy of Sciences
April 21, 2022

Exhibit showcases adaptations bugs have developed over millions of years and across a multitude of environments.

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