Animal Attraction NightLife

Be the first to catch a sneak peek of the Academy's new aquarium gallery Animal Attraction, about the incredible mating strategies of the animal kingdom—from hermaphroditic banana slugs to cannibalistic praying mantids. Get an insider’s perspective on the exhibit from aquarium director Bart Shepherd, catch Jane Tollini's talk on animal sex and the Zodiac signs, and learn about the sex life of frogs from Academy herpetologist Bob Drewes. In the realm of human reproduction, learn all about the science of orgasm from Carol Queen, doctor in residence at Good Vibrations; check out a pop-up exhibit of vibrators past and present, courtesy of the Center for Sex and Culture and Good Vibrations; and meet professor of human sexuality at SF State, Ivy Chen. Music by soul/boogie aficionados Sweater Funk DJ collective.

Event Schedule

6-8pm Rainforests of the World (Last entry at 7:45pm)

6-10pm Animal Attraction Gallery Sneak Peak/ Aquarium

6-10pm Sweater Funk DJ Collective/ Piazza & Coral Reef

6-10pm Giant Twister & Love Dice/ Piazza

6:30-10pm Vibrators, Mating & Break Ups/ African Hall

6:30pm Celestial Attractions/ Planetarium

7 & 8pm Science of Orgasm with Carol Queen/ African Hall

7pm Science Love Stories: Sex Life of Frogs with Academy herpetologist Bob Drewes/ Project lab

7:30pm Animal Sex and the Zodiac Signs with Jane Tollini/ Forum

7:30 & 8:30pm Life: A Cosmic Story/ Planetarium

Buy Tickets to NightLife on February 9th

Vibrators, Mating & Break Ups - Oh my!

6:30-10pm African Hall

See a pop-up exhibit of vibrators past and present, courtesy of the Center for Sex and Culture and Good Vibrations.

Visit the "Break-up Booth," to get advice on proper technique from sexuality health educator Ivy Chen (left).

Plus hear from Academy Docents about the mating habits of the animals in African Hall.  

Science of Orgasm with Carol Queen

7 & 8pm African Hall

Learn all about the science of orgasm from Carol Queen, doctor in residence at Good Vibrations.

Animal Sex & the Zodiac Signs with Jane Tollini

7:30pm Forum (second floor)

Don’t miss Jane Tollini, animal sexpert and former SF Zoo penguin keeper, talk about animal mating and the zodiac signs.

Animal Attraction Gallery Sneak Peak

6-10pm Aquarium

Animal Attraction explores some of the wildest courtship and mating strategies in the animal kingdom. From mate-munching bugs to leaping fish, learn how animals go to extremes to pass on their genes.

Hermaphroditic banana slugs, cannibalistic praying mantises, monogamous shrimp, and more, were chosen by our biologists to tell the varied, unique and often bizarre mating stories.

Don’t miss this chance to get a sneak peak at the new exhibit in the aquarium and get an insider’s perspective on the exhibit from aquarium director Bart Shepherd!

Sweater Funk DJ Collective

6-10pm East Pavilion

Our new motto: wrong music, wrong place, wrong night... three wrongs make it right! We are a group of soul/boogie collectors and enthusiasts who've come together recently mainly through the influence of our good friend Dam-Funk who's weekly Monday night at Carbon in Culver City "Funkmosphere" is our inspiration. We're focusing on late 70's to early 80's mid tempo soulful boogie and 2-step soul gems all on original wax. Please come down this Thursday night and introduce yourselves to our little family of bon vivants and be prepared to dance!

Planetarium

Enjoy the following planetarium shows this week at NightLife:

Science Tonight: LIVE @ 6:30pm Celestial Attractions

For millennia, people have told tales about the constellations… Some of them a little risqué! Gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines can get into a bit of trouble, and star patterns spell out many such stories. Elise Ricard will guide you on an R-rated mythological tour of the night sky!

7:30 & 8:30pm Life: A Cosmic Story

Passes to planetarium shows are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.  Pick up your pass at the Planetarium Kiosk.

Beer Week NightLife with Noise Pop

In honor of SF Beer Week, sample brews from local masters Speakeasy Brewing, Trumer Pilsner, 21st Amendment, Anchor Steam, Mad River Brewing Company, Drake's Brewing, Bear Republic Brewing, Santa Cruz Ale Works, Lagunitas Brewing, Berryessa Brewing Co., and Marin Brewing Co, and gain some insight into the brewing process. Live music by Class Actress, presented by Noise Pop: think Depeche Mode meets early Madonna and Five Star, as heard on the radio in the leather backseat of a cab. Led by frontwoman Elizabeth Harper, they will grace the stage with a sound New York Magazine describes as “unabashedly sick electro-pop beats juxtaposed with coy, romantically depressed vocals.” In honor of Noise Pop's upcoming 20th anniversary, take a trip down memory lane with posters and photography from festivals past, and meet poster artists Lil Tuffy, Alan Hynes, Small Stakes (Jason Munn), GigArt (Gregg Gordon), Alan Forbes, and Monkey Ink (John Howard) as you view their art. Additional music by Epicsauce DJs, plus a Painted Palms DJ set.

Buy Tickets to NightLife on February 16th

Class Actress

8:30pm Piazza

Elizabeth Harper, a former drama major from Los Angeles, had been writing delicate, wistful songs of longing and detachment for several years when she met musician & psychoanalyst-in-training Mark Richardson in 2009 and asked him to remix one of her tracks. Their creative chemistry was instantaneous – Mark’s production style was cerebral but sensual, relying heavily on vintage synths and drum machines, and influenced by ‘80s bands like Human League and Depeche Mode while still conscious of modern club sounds steeped in hip hop and house. It perfectly complemented the melancholy undertone in Harper’s songs and revealed in them an urge towards ecstatic abandon.

The pleasure and sorrow of romantic connection are inescapably entwined in Harper’s lyrics, while the smooth, cool surfaces of Richardson’s production conjure an eternal after-hours nightlife that Harper inhabits fearlessly, displaying a provocative, wounded raw sexuality that some reviewers have compared to early Madonna.

Class Actress is: Guilty Pleasure. NSA dance music. Casual Encounters. Stalker Pop. Depeche Mode meets early Madonna and Five Star as heard on the radio in the leather backseat of a cab.

Class Actress is not: Acting Class.

Planetarium

Enjoy the following planetarium shows this week at NightLife:

Science Tonight: LIVE @ 6:30pm Universe Update

Take a tour of the Universe with a sprinkling of the hottest news stories from astronomy and the space sciences!  Ryan Wyatt, Director of the Morrison Planetarium, pilots you through the stars and beyond the galaxies, explaining the latest space headlines in easily-digestible terms, and returns you safely to Earth in less than an hour. Presented by Ryan Wyatt.

7:30 & 8:30pm Life: A Cosmic Story

Passes to planetarium shows are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.  Pick up your pass at the Planetarium Kiosk.

Robots! NightLife

Wire your circuits for a night of robotic revelry. Meet the OrbSWARM, a herd of autonomous beings that will flock, flirt, dance and interact with the crowd; and a crew of humanoid robots supplied by the organizers of Robogames (the Olympics of the robot world). Watch out for robotic "land sharks" roaming through the darkness, and for a new perspective on your mind’s inner workings, stimulate larger than life neurons in the Neuron Chamber, created by Alan Rorie of Almost Scientific, and watch the impulses fly. In the planetarium, learn about robot explorers of the solar system. Music by The Polish Ambassador.

Buy Tickets to NightLife on February 23rd

The Polish Ambassador

6-10pm Piazza

The Polish Ambassador is a beat machine from the future. Hailing simultaneously from the far reaches of other dimensional Universes and... Oakland, California, this dude drops his own unique blend of electro-funked, glitch-tweaked, wobble-freaked breakbeats that will have you dropping that bottom like it was 92.....3092, that is.

The Ambassador builds all of his live sets from a monstrous stash of original drums, bass, synth, and vox lines. "No Genre Left Behind," Sugalski jokes as he blends elements of funk, glitch, idm, hip hop, 80s music, jungle, and dub into a beat soup that will instigate healthy doses of booty shake and fist pump.

Claiming to be Poland's ambassador to the Universe, Sugalski has released 6 studio albums, 5 of them independently. Diplomatic Immunity in 2007, The Phantasmal Farm in 2008, I Found Him. Now I Must Kill Him in 2009, Mating Season (released under the Ample Mammal alias) and First Words in 2010. In 2011, Sugalski released his sixth record (Future, Sex, Computers) with a major lablel, 1320 Records with follow up remix record forthcoming this Fall. All 6 albums have obtained favorable press and achieved regular rotation on college, independent, and internet radio, and more than a dozen songs have been placed in nationally televised commercials.

Synthesizers and a pure spirit are the Ambassador's primary weapons. Join his army and help Polish annihilate bad beats marring the earth with shame and disgrace.

Planetarium

Enjoy the following planetarium shows this week at NightLife:

Science Tonight: LIVE @ 6:30pm Robot Explorers of the Solar System

Humans don’t travel well in the cold, dangerous vacuum of space, so we send robot explorers in our stead—from the Voyager spacecraft to the Galileo, Cassini, and Dawn missions, our machines have sent back remarkable discoveries from planets, asteroids, comets, and everything in between… throughout our Solar System. Join Casey Selden on a tour of the Solar System from robot-eyes’ view.

7:30 & 8:30pm Life: A Cosmic Story

Passes to planetarium shows are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.  Pick up your pass at the Planetarium Kiosk.

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NightLife VIP Tour

Want an entirely different NightLife experience? Join us on our NightLife VIP Tour. Tickets include admission to NightLife, a one-hour behind-the-scenes tour with a private viewing of the Academy's renowned gem and mineral collection and interaction with Academy researchers in the lab, express entry into the building, an open bar in a reserved cocktail area prior to the tour, VIP access to the Rainforest, and a reserved pass for the 8:30 Planetarium show.

$59.00/person – limited tickets available each week

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm (building closes at 10:00 pm)

For more information, please click here.

NightLife Private Lounge

Looking for a great space to celebrate landing that big account, throw a birthday party, or just gather with all your old friends, all while enjoying San Francisco’s most exciting Thursday night event?  Rent out the NightLife Private Lounge. You’ll get early access to a premium private room with catering and bar service and access to our Thursday NightLife event. For more booking information contact Dan Kalin at (415) 379-5837 or dkalin@calacademy.org.