A museum is a place where one should lose one's head. |
| There was a lot of buzz in the city about “Night Life” at California Academy of Sciences, a night at the museum strictly designed for adults. They essentially replaced strollers and whining kids with DJ's, ambient lighting, and several stocked bars. The Academy had recently undergone a spectacular redesign in 2008 and was getting a lot of attention for the rainforest exhibit enclosed in a 90 foot glass dome. "Night Life" sounded like the perfect spot for my April Mystery Date and to see wall the fuss about the new museum. |
Getting there was a straight shot on the bus and as we cruised along, Chris was throwing out guess after guess. Luckily he wasn’t anywhere close and I was sure he would be surprised… until about 2 stops away, an older woman loudly asked the bus driver, “Which stop for the Academy of Sciences?”. Chris looked at me, eyebrows raised and instantly knew the secret was out!
There was a palpable buzz in the air as we arrived and waited in line to enter. People were looking surprisingly gussied up — you never know who you’re going to meet at a night at the museum! We entered through the grand foyer where a DJ was spinning, lights were bouncing and an impressive bar greeted us.
There was a palpable buzz in the air as we arrived and waited in line to enter. People were looking surprisingly gussied up — you never know who you’re going to meet at a night at the museum! We entered through the grand foyer where a DJ was spinning, lights were bouncing and an impressive bar greeted us.
We grabbed two drinks and off we went to the four story indoor rainforest. While nothing beats the real thing, the museum did an excellent job recreating the feeling of the rain forest. As we meandered to the top amongst the butterflies dancing around, the warm humid air was a nice contrast from our typical chilly San Francisco nights.
Next, we headed down to the impressive underground aquariums. “Night Life” was in full swing and the fish in their massive aquariums provided stellar backdrops to people dancing and socializing. It's easily one of the most fantastic bar/club ambiances we have ever seen!
| From there we headed up stairs to the “Living Roof”, which is a magnificent rooftop display of 1.7 million native plants designed to sequester carbon. There are seven rolling hills throughout the garden, paying homage to the city’s famous slopes. People were talking, mingling and checking out the views. | 
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It wouldn’t be a proper California natural sciences museum without an extensive earthquake exhibit. As we headed back downstairs to checkout the exhibit, we ran into Chris' roommate Kurt and his date. Looks like I wasn't the only one who thought this would be great date! We all shared one last drink and headed to the foyer for a few more songs.
"Night Life" turned out to be a fantastic Mystery Date and I really loved the creative twist California Academy of Sciences used to attract a new audience.
