The following is a bi-monthly update on progress being made at the soon-to-reopen California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Opening day is September 27th.
Aquarium:
-Aquatic Biologists Dave Chan, Nick Yim and Nancy Levine returned late Friday from a very successful week of collecting with Monterey Bay Aquarium. Â A legion of Academy staff turned out to form a bucket brigade and help transport of hundreds of starfish, sea anemones, snails, crabs, chitons, limpets and other inverts from the loading dock to the California Rocky Coast tank. Â It was great to see carts from Special Events, Accounting, Education etc all loaded with buckets of seawater and invertebrates. Â Thanks to everyone who helped out. Â
-Nick and Nancy spent about 36 hours in San Francisco, and then left again for a collecting trip down in Southern California with Aquarium of the Pacific and Cabrillo Aquarium. Â
-The surf perch in the California Rocky Coast tank are already giving birth- there is a group of 10-12 youngsters cruising the tank, doing their best to avoid the Cabezon and Rockfish.
-There are now more than 1,600 fish in the Philippine Coral Reef exhibit.
-Biologists, Academy Staff and Contractors have begun to prepare the live food and jelly culture room in anticipation of the arrival of most of our jellies in early September. Â
-The Swamp has been cleaned, prepared and is in final fill mode. Â Fishes and the Snapping Turtles will be coming over this week, in anticipation of the alligators arriving on the 19th.
-The Alligator Gar tank is also in final fill and small fish (Texas Cichlids) will be placed in that tank within the next week or so. Â
-Biologists are stocking the Flooded Forest gallery focus tanks. Â Piranha are on site. Â Angelfish, stingrays, electric eel, and Mata mata will follow shortly.
-Interpretative signs are going up everywhere
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Planetarium:
– Planetarium seating installation was finished on the August 1. Now people will be able to sit down to see shows.
– Most of the final construction, iron work, electrical and painting were completed in the theater.
– Working hard last week and this to make theater capable of doing “talkies.” Namely, we’re finishing up the installation of the Meyer sound system.Â
– Speaking of talkies….Sigourney Weaver was recorded for the planetarium show.
– Production team views their work twice daily in the theater.
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Museum:
-The L-1 floor is full of exhibits! Nearly all of the modules are in on the “Islands†(east) side, and a few of the exhibit frames on the west side (“Alerted Stateâ€) arrived last week. The graphics and audio/visual equipment is currently being installed on the east side.
-Upstairs, the Naturalist Center cabinetry should be completely installed by the end of this week.
-In the Early Explorers’ Cove the exhibits are now nearly complete and looking very inviting for young visitors.
Larry Currie
Academy Librarian
www.calacademy.org
