January 2020: What's On at the California Academy of Sciences

Festive Programming

Last chance!
‘Tis the Season for Science: Life on Ice
Open through January 5, 2020
The holidays may be winding down, but there’s still time to celebrate the New Year with the Academy’s annual holiday exhibit! Learn about the amazing organisms that live at our planet’s poles, say farewell to our two live reindeer (Nicky and Noel), and take a final frolic through the Piazza snow flurries. See below for details on some of our seasonal offerings and visit here for all of our daily holiday programming.

Tiffany’s Dance Academy
Saturday, January 4 | 12 pm and 2 pm
Piazza
Ring in the New Year in style with a sensational seasonal performance from members of the Bay Area’s own Tiffany’s Dance Academy!

Ukulele Friends Ohana
Sunday, January 5 | 12 pm and 2 pm
Piazza
Say aloha to the New Year with the Ukulele Friends Ohana as they bring island vibes to the Piazza stage during this festive live performance!

Reindeer Rendezvous
Daily | 12 pm
East Garden
Meet our amazing antlered visitors and discover how special adaptations allow reindeer to migrate up to 3,000 miles each year!

Events

Last chance!
Skin: Living Armor, Evolving Identity
Closes January 20, 2020
Forum Gallery, Second Floor
Uniquely personal yet universal, skin is a remarkably beautiful and sophisticated organ that is the living interface between organisms and their environment. Explore the science behind how skin varies across the animal kingdom through rarely seen scientific specimens, and learn how understanding the origins and persistence of racism can help us build a more equitable, colorful future. See this acclaimed exhibit before it closes on January 20, 2020.

SF Sketchfest NightLife
Thursday, January 16 | 6 – 10 pm
From fake docent tours in the Steinhart Aquarium to riffing short films in the Morrison Planetarium, SF Sketchfest returns to NightLife at the Academy! Enjoy craft cocktails and lots of laughs as comedians take to the Piazza stage. NightLife is 21+ with ID. Visit here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Lectures

After Hours at the Mill Valley Public Library
Feeding the Future
Friday, January 3 | 6:30 – 9 pm
Mill Valley Public Library
Journey from Mill Valley to Madagascar with Academy Curator of Entomology Brian Fisher, PhD. He’s on the front lines tracking global change—all with the help of insects that rapidly respond to fluctuations and often flag early signs of ecosystem collapse. In Madagascar, a heavily populated nation off East Africa, these conservation efforts are complicated by a malnutrition crisis. Learn more about Fisher’s work and new groundbreaking efforts to farm crickets into protein-packed powder for food in this dynamic evening talk. Advance registration for this event is highly recommended. Register here now.

Benjamin Dean Astronomy Lectures
Baby Planets and their Nurseries
Monday, January 13 | 7:30 pm
Morrison Planetarium
Learn how new planets are born in the disks surrounding young stars from Boston University astrophysicist Catherine Espaillat, PhD. Tickets are $15 per person ($12 for Academy members and seniors). Advance reservations required. Visit here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Ongoing Events, Exhibits, and Daily Programming

New species!
Steinhart Aquarium
Open 365 Days a Year
Stop by the Steinhart Aquarium to see some friendly new faces, such as the fashionable decorator crab—which uses materials from its environment to camouflage itself from predators!

Penguin Feeding
Daily | 10:30 am and 3 pm
African Hall
Watch as an Academy biologist feeds our positively-adorable African penguins and answers all your penguin-related questions!

Passport to the Universe
Multiple Showtimes Daily
Morrison Planetarium
Traverse our unimaginably vast Universe in this critically-acclaimed planetarium show narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks! Planetarium shows may not be appropriate for children under 7, and we regret that we cannot permit any child under 4.