NightLife at the Academy

This week, NightLife is bringing the groovy back with some of San Francisco’s hottest disco fiends. Join the DJs Steve Fabus and Sergio Fedasz of Go BANG! for a Silent Disco in African Hall, and shake your funky best alongside zebras, lions, and live African penguins. In the Piazza, the DJs behind La French SF Champagne Disco promise to understate the obvious and overdeliver on the unexpected with a special DJ set by Goldroom and many other surprises. Test your Seventies Smarts with trivia organized by Brainstormer about the science and pop culture of the era. And in the planetarium, don’t miss a live presentation on Astronomy of the 1970s at 6:30, followed by two showings of Earthquake.  Can you dig it?

There’s nothing poisonous about these skulls and bones—we just think they’re awesome. This week, watch as volunteers work on assembling the skeleton of a juvenile offshore orca whale as part of the Built for Speed exhibit, and meet Lee Post, an expert on what it takes to reassemble whale-scale jigsaw puzzles. Chat with Academy field associate Ray "Bones" Bandar and see a selection of the fascinating specimens he has collected for scientific study in his 50-plus-year career. Play a game of “Operation,” dig into some ribs at the Academy Café, and stop by Paxton Gate’s station to see a selection of their treasures.  In the planetarium, catch a live presentation at 6:30 about the “bones” of the Milky Way, infrared dark clouds that trace out the densest parts of the galaxy’s spiral arms; followed by two showings of Earthquake.  Music in the Piazza will be by Icee Hot DJs Rollie Fingers and Ghosts on Tape from 6-8:00, followed by a set by Grown Folk from 8-10:00.

Music by DJ Mark “Dukey” Gorney

In honor of World Ocean’s Day, NightLife presents its fifth annual night of sustainable seafood cooking demonstrations, this year featuring chefs from the ever-popular 25 Lusk, long-time, family-owned seafood purveyor Fog Harbor Fish House, and others TBA. See (and taste) how they create dishes that are both delectable and sustainable, and meet representatives from local ocean conservation-minded organizations including Fishwise, Seafood Alliance, Ocean Conservancy, and America’s Cup Healthy Ocean Project. Catch a talk by Maria Finn, author of “The Whole Fish: How Adventurous Eating of Seafood Can Make You Healthier, Sexier and Help Save the Ocean.” In the planetarium, catch a live Earth Update on marine mammal/human interactions along the California coastline at 6:30, followed by two showings of Earthquake. Plus, chat up the Academy’s ichthyology (that’s fish) collection manager Dave Catania, and ask a scuba diver inside the moon-lit coral reef tank your burning questions about Nemo. DJ Mark “Dukey” Gorney sets the mood with Jamaican, Trinidadian and other Caribbean tunes from the 1960s on vinyl 45s.

Live music by White Arrows and SAM FLAX, Craft Spells (DJ set)- presented by Noise Pop

This week, rock on with a live performance by White Arrows, fresh off the Coachella stage, with visuals by ALL OF IT NOW as part of the Live@NightLife: Summer 2013 music series. Scale a portable rock climbing wall, smash some virtual rocks in an interactive projection by Anticlockwise, and check in on the rockfish hanging out in the California Coast tank. Plus, check out some favorite specimens from the Academy’s rockin’ rock collection and library. Take in a cocktail demonstration featuring, you guessed it, drinks on the rocks. In the planetarium, see a live presentation on Rocks in Space at 6:30, followed by two showings of Earthquake (a.k.a. When Rocks Move).

Music by DJ Eric Sharp

In the mood for some cross-pollination? This week, NightLife and the Bold Italic explore the science of hooking up, featuring the folks behind dating app Swoon, acclaimed matchmaker and author Paul C. Brunson, and product samplings and demonstrations with some of San Francisco's most romantic products, including designer toy-maker Crave. Need a refresher on sex ed? Planned Parenthood’s got you covered. Always been intrigued by speed dating but a little too meek to give it a real go? Nightlife's got your back with a mock speed dating setup. Plus, in honor of National Pollinator Week, learn about the all-important birds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators that allow plants to reproduce from the experts at the California Academy of Sciences, Conservatory of Flowers, and San Francisco Botanical Gardens. Then head over to the rainforest to try a round of Flutter: Butterfly Sanctuary, a mobile game where you care for your own rainforest and raise butterflies through their incredible life cycle-- then adorn yourself with butterfly wings and get snapped in the Flutter photo booth.

Music by Hard French vs. Stay Gold, and Viennetta Discotheque

Pride NightLife is back and better than ever! This year, local drag stars Glamamore, Heklina, Juanita More, and Peaches Christ are joined by Pandora Boxx and Willam, stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race, for a drag show and “transpecies” costume contest you won’t want to miss. Plus, fascinating talks by the founders of the Center for Sex and Culture, Carol Queen and Robert Lawrence. In the Piazza, it’s DJs Carnita and Brown Amy of Hard French vs. DJs Pink Lightning and Rapid Fire of Stay Gold. Additional music in the coral reef is by Vienetta Discotheque DJs Stanley Frank and Robert Jeffrey. Learn about flamboyantly-colored opisthobranchs (a group which includes sea butterflies, pelagic sea angels, and sea slugs to name a few) from graduate students Josh Hallas and Ryan Hulett. Then make some flair of your own to wear all night—think sparkle pins and personal pride emblem—at stations by SCRAP and Friends of Sharon Art Studio. Artist Jeremiah Jenkins will also be on-hand to host his popular “ego-system” social experiment. In the planetarium, catch a live chat at 6:30 with Academy curator David Blackburn currently doing field work in Africa, followed by two showings of Earthquake.