Delightful NightLife news, delivered weekly.
NightLife of Tomorrow
Buy ahead to skip the line and save on tickets. 21+.
Do androids dream of electric penguins? Expand your mind with a night of futuristic art and science from Afrofuturist fashion to sci-fi inspired art.
Sounds by Anthony Dragons
Check out Anthony Dragons’ exclusive NightLife playlist on the NightLife Spotify Page
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Afrofuturism Fashion Show
African Hall
8 PM
- Oakland-based Fashion Designer James Head is serving lewks in an Afrofuturistic fashion show that merges African traditions and culture with science and technology
Asian Futures, Without Asians
Science Today & Curiosity Grove
6 - 10 PM
- We see it all the time in Hollywood: futurist worlds and sci-fi films that are heavily inspired by Asian aesthetics and culture without actually featuring Asian people. What can be learned by questioning the usage of culture and erasure of people? Oakland-based artist Astria Suparak tackles this head on in her video collection, "Asian futures, without Asians,” which analyzes half a century of American science fiction cinema in a quest to unearth meaning and expand representation
LoveTech Experience
Piazza
6 - 10 PM
- Check out the lights and sounds of some seriously forward-thinking interactives from LoveTech SF
NightLife of Tomorrow Showcase
Swamp
6 - 10 PM
- Peruse and snag trinkets of tomorrow made by local merchants and makers, curated by our friends at SF Bazaar
- Looking to up your cyberpunk fashion game? The Museum of Craft and Design (MCD) is back with an array of reflective and light up wearables– all made with materials found within MCD’s robot-filled exhibition, Proxistant Vision!
- Meet some talking, dancing, and joke-telling humanoid robots from the Homebrew Robotics Club and check out “Tenacity”, a ¼ size rebuild of NASA’s “Curiosity” Mars rover
- Who better to tell us about tomorrow than our friends at NASA? Find out about the upcoming VIPER mission designed to seek out ice deposits in the deep craters of the Moon
A few don't-miss NightLife details:
- Effective September 16, NightLife guests will no longer be required to provide proof of full vaccination or a recent negative test. We still strongly encourage all guests to stay up-to-date on their vaccinations, and to mask up indoors. As always, if you’re 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
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.
Local treasures, tasty treats, LED lion dances. It’s time to ring in the year of the snake the NightLife way.
Blow a kiss to our African penguins and 60,000 other creatures when you explore the Academy at night.
We’re back with another collab with SF staple Noise Pop Music and Arts Festival featuring a DJ set by DāM-FunK.