This Wednesday & Thursday at the California Academy of Sciences

Claude the Albino Alligator

Stuart covered this last year when the museum was brand-spaking-new and the FREE day was a proceed-at-your-own-risk kind of activity.  But now the museum is old news and the novelty has sort of worn off, unless you haven’t been there yet, in which case you should go on Wednesday because it is FREE (every 3^rd Wednesday) instead of $25 (which clearly you cannot afford because you’ve already forgone the 'œquit smoking' resolution you made a mere 3 weeks ago).  Then on Thursday is their weekly Nightlife party, when the museum turns into a 21+ venue with music, food, and cocktails (finally you don’t have to elbow your way through a bunch of snot-nosed H1N1-carrying 5 year-olds in order to get a good look at the octopus).  The tickets for Nightlife are $12, so not only do you avoid the daytime masses of children, but you save money on admission too!  Also this month (through Jan 29^th): seniors (65+) can buy kid-priced tickets ($15, $5 off the regular senior price).  Are there a lot of 65-plussers reading this site?  Leave a comment!  I’d like to know how many innocent grannies I’m offending on a regular basis.

Is this really a museum scientist? Or is it just their restaurant's sous chef diving for the "sustainable catch of the day?"

Now, excuse me for a moment while I go on a bit of a rant: the museum is amazing in many ways, but my one huge problem with the Academy of Sciences is how they have this beautiful, diverse, expansive, eco/endangered species-focused aquarium downstairs, meanwhile upstairs they serve fish and chips at their café.  And if you want a more upscale (overpriced) dining experience, you can go to their fancy restaurant and order squid, prawns, or tuna.  And don’t forget to ask about their 'œsustainable catch of the day' (ah yes, we’ve really cut down on fuel emissions because instead of shipping the fish here, we just go downstairs and grab one of the ugly ones that no one will miss). I mean, how weird would it have been to find 'œkung pao human' or an 'œHLT: Human, Lettuce & Tomato' sandwich at the cafeteria at the Body Worlds exhibit?  Would you eat albino alligator meat after meeting Claude the albino alligator in the swamp exhibit (the other other white meat)?  Would you eat a giraffe at the zoo, munch on a bunny on Easter, or cook up a nice fat bearded guy on Christmas?  There is a suggestion board at the museum'”use it to point out their insane hypocrisy.  Aside from that delightful token, courtesy of my veganism, I do hope you enjoy your visit!

Wednesday, January 20^th, 9:30am-5pm
FREE 3^rd Wednesday @ California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Drive [Golden Gate Park]
FREE

Thursday, January 21^st, 6pm-10pm
Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Drive [Golden Gate Park]
$10 (members), $12 general

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