Step inside a living 4-story rainforest, where dripping water sets the beat for a symphony of croaking frogs and chirping birds. Peer into one of Borneo’s bat caves, meet chameleons from Madagascar, and climb into the tree-tops of Costa Rica to find free-flying birds and butterflies. Finally, descend in a glass elevator into the Amazonian flooded forest, where an acrylic tunnel allows you to walk beneath the catfish and arapaima that swim overhead.
About the Dome
 | The Academy rainforest is contained within a spectacular 90-foot diameter glass dome. It's the largest spherical rainforest exhibit in the world. Follow a spiraling path up through the exhibit, experience what it's like to actually walk in a real rainforest. Temperatures are maintained at 82-85 degrees Fahrenheit, and humidity is maintained at 75% or above using a unique misting system. |
Animals of the Rainforest
 | The Academy Rainforest is teeming with 1,600 live animals - including 600 free-flying birds and butterflies, 100 exotic reptiles and amphibians, and a cave full of bats. There's also 100,000 gallon "Flooded Forest" tank, where hundreds of tropical freshwater fish cruise overhead. Each level represents a different rainforest around the world - Borneo, Madagascar, Costa Rica and the Amazon. Each level represents a distinct rainforest habitat containing its own special zoological garden.
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Tropical Plants
 | Eighty skylights in the roof, supplemented with metal halide lights, enable the growth of lush, tropical plants found in various rainforests around the world. Living plants include numerous trees - such as the Brazilian beautyleaf and West Indies mahogany, dozens of shrubs - including Theobrama cacao, the plant from which chocolate is made, and hundreds of flowering plants - from begonias and philodendrons to orchids and bromeliads. |
Location |
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It's hard to miss a 4-story rainforest encased in a glass sphere but just in case...
Hours |
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The rainforest exhibit opens at 10:00 am Sunday through Friday and 9:30 am on Saturdays, holidays, and free Wednesdays.
Thank you for following all posted warnings against photography at selected exhibits. These rules are important to maintain the health of our animals.
Explore Science |
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- Rainforests once covered 14% of the Earth's land surface. Now they cover less than 6%. Learn more.
- Meet Dr. Brian Fisher and his pioneering work in Madagascar. He's just one of the Academy's very own Science Heroes.
- Follow ongoing Academy research taking place in Sao Tome and Principe. Visit the Gulf of Guinea blog.
