California Academy of Sciences

Mark those calendars: This Feb. 23 panel features the incredible Dr. Maydianne Andrade, Dr. Michelle Samuel-Foo, & Dr. Jessica Ware, three of the organizers of #BlackInEnto Week! Panelists will discuss the challenges facing Black entomologists today, the work being done in their fields, & ways we can all support efforts to better diversify science.

This week on NightSchool: Close your eyes and listen to music, nature, and the universe during an evening dedicated to surprising soundsfrom the mind-bending theremin to the music of the cosmos to the new songs birds are singing during the pandemic. Streaming live Thursday at 7pm PT.

Academy librarian Rebekah Kim returns to Breakfast Club on Feb. 19America's day of observance for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War IIto tell the story of scientific illustrator Toshio Asaeda, who worked with the Academy for more than 40 years & left behind a collection of astoundingly vibrant, hyper-realistic watercolors that still amaze today.

Have a mini marine biologist age 48? Our newest (free!) activity pack explores Earth’s incredible coral reefswith 4 days’ worth of videos, science crafts, activities, & more! Download (and explore our other Science @ Home activity packs) at bit.ly/2N2uunM.

Thursday, live at 7pm PT: Join us for a special festive NightSchool! We're presenting a virtual version of NightLife's Holiday Bazaar event with an evening of nature-inspired crafts: Get some DIY gift ideas, craft alongside artisans and makers, and browse a hand-selected online market to help you shop and support local artists.

Dear FB friends: We need your voiceand so do our animals, staff, education efforts, environmental-protection work, & scientific research. If you have 2 mins, please ask Congress to include aquariums & museums in the next round of emergency-relief funding: bit.ly/3lQWWUN.

No creature too small for big love from our aquarium staff! Biologist Spencer P. filmed this successful first try at crab enrichment, specifically for our white-spotted hermits & spider decorators.

Live, 7pm PT: Tonight during NightSchool, learn about your mountain lion and bobcat neighbors and the west coast habitats they roam. Hear how scientistsincluding speakers Cameron Macias of the Olympic Cougar Project and Chris Wilmers, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at UC Santa Cruzare using cutting-edge research to help conserve wild cat populations in areas increasingly affected by humans.

Live, 10:10am! Because life today needs more science AND more sparkle, we're stepping into the Academy's incredible collections of gems and minerals with Geology Collections Manager Chrissy Garcia. From behind-the-scenes specimens to those on display in our Gems + Minerals exhibit, it's an episode guaranteed to delight both intellects and eyeballs.

Our Chief of Science Dr. Shannon Bennett (a virologist) is so serious about mask-wearing that SHE SEWED ONE FOR THE T. REX. And it's a secret Claude-tribute.

Live, 7 pm PT: Get a little help understanding the fossil record. Journey back in time 4.6 billion years with Curatorial Assistant of Geology, Maricela Abarca; tour the Ice Age with UC Museum of Paleontology's Nick Spano, and check out paleoartist Franz Anthony's vibrant depictions of extinct cephalopods. Extra credit for good questions.

Fangs, stingers, spines, a tiny mouse that howls at the moonour all-new "Venom" exhibit awaits! Ticket reservations? calacademy.org. Questions about the visit experience? bit.ly/3mIQCQg

2 words: FRILL SHARK! More words: Swim through the aisles of our 1.2-million-specimen ichthyology collections, aka one of the largest, most significant collections of fishes in the world. With collections manager Dave Catania as our guide, we'll drop into jars, tubs, & buckets containing some of the most incredible ocean denizens known to science. Live questions welcome!

HOLD ONTO YOUR RHINOPHORES: It's #SeaSlugDay! (Established in honor of our own Dr. Terry Gosliner, describer of 1,000+ species.) To celebrate, sea-slug experts Alison Young & Rebecca Johnson have taken over our Twitter & are flooding it with beautiful facts that are squishy in the good way. twitter.com/calacademy

We've missed you, your eyes need new views, the right kind of blues. (Haiku!) Ticket reservations are opencome see it all, from our new "Venom" exhibit to the creatures you know & love. calacademy.org

A shimmering, 5-foot-long, prismatic predator that terrifies prey but can break apart on a wave. Meet the Venus girdle (a type of comb jelly), caught rising from the dark waters off Ponza Island, Italy. From bioGraphic & photographer Alexander Semenov: bit.ly/3oALIqa.

Just a Halloween museum-montage (we heard your clamor), via Academy photographer & spotter-of-the-secret-mini-scare, Gayle Laird

We’re not saying this urchin is definitely waving at you, but also 1) it’s an urchin; 2) it’s arguably pointed your way; 3) things are waving; 4) it’s heard great things about you.

Live, 7pm PT: Tonight, we're talking about nature and citiesand how cities affect the evolution of the wildlife that lives in them. We'll kick off with an overview of urban evolution with NYC "pigeon stalker" Elizabeth Carlen; learn about city frogs and turtles with Dr. Max Lambert; and dig into how structural inequalities shape cities and the outcomes of wildlife that live in them with Dr. Christopher Schell.

Be a science-digitization hero! (Please.) Step into our new, virtual "Invertebrate Time Machine" on Zooniverse to help scientists access our historically important marine-invertebrate data, which is currently trapped in 1000s of old 3x5 cards. All you need is curiosity, a keyboard, and an appreciation for the special kind of zen that comes from setting info free: bit.ly/33Zumeo.

Live, 10am PT: Meet the creature with the fastest turning strike on Earth, via flattie-spider expert Dr. Sarah Crews! Flatties aren't small nor uncommon, yet they remain a very big mystery with a very low profile. Hear how Dr. Crews began working on the group, her accidental discovery of their record-breaking speed, their life history, behavior, and all the questions that remain. (Plus: Even more new species!) Live Qs welcome.

Today’s the day! We’re thrilled to welcome back members & donors with tiny, open arms. We’ve missed you so much, & we can’t thank you enough for your continued support this year. Planning to visit soon? Get everything you need to know here: bit.ly/315kqxQ. (We reopen to the public on Oct. 23!)