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California Academy of Sciences
@calacademy.bsky.social
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Natural history museum, research institute, aquarium, planetarium, rainforest, & so much more — all under one living roof.
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With thousands of touchable specimens and objects featured in our new Nature Lab, we have thousands of stories we can tell! Swipe to see some of our Public Programs team’s favorite specimens and where to find them in the Nature Lab.
An infographic highlighting Academy staff’s favorite specimens in our new Nature Lab. Highlights include a dung beetle, a turtle, beaver skull, 6 legged frog in a jar, and meteorite. Swipe to see more. Our 6-legged frog specimen in the Nature Lab. This specimen can be found in the herpetology cabinet. Kristen, a Public Programs Manager at the Academy says “Kids and adults alike LOVE this specimen.” It’s been preserved using a process called diaphonization, which turns soft tissues transparent and allows the skeleton of an animal to be seen. This slide highlights a dung beetle pinned with its own ball of dung. This specimen can be found in an insect case in our entomology cabinet. Katy, an Assistant Manager of Public Programs says “A scientist made the choice to not only preserve this beetle, but also its ball of dung — something that all dung beetle species depend on.” This slide highlights a meteorite in our Nature Lab, which can be found in the geology cabinet. Los, a Public Programs Presenter, says “The basic components for life on Earth — the birth of the planet itself is because of meteorites.”
January 16, 2026 at 6:37 PM
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Join us on Sunday, 1/18 for a free outdoor community celebration of life honoring the legacy of Claude, San Francisco’s beloved albino alligator. 🤍

Hosted by Bay Area news icon Dion Lim, the memorial will take place in the Golden Gate Park Bandshell from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and will be livestreamed.
The Claude Forever event poster featuring a portrait of Claude. The celebration of life event will take place Sunday January 18 from 11AM-1PM in the Golden Gate Park Bandshell.
January 12, 2026 at 7:07 PM
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Still in need of a New Year’s Resolution? Here’s some advice our new species of 2025 might give you (if they could talk).

Learn more about these species, and all the new species described by Cal Academy researchers in 2025, here: bit.ly/3Z01f66
January 8, 2026 at 5:15 PM
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New year, new YouTube series! 🥳

In this episode, Animal Care Manager Tim Wong takes us through his busy day as he waters a rainforest, dives in our Philippine Coral Reef, & feeds our African penguins. See more staff in this new series on our YouTube channel! Watch Tim’s episode here: bit.ly/4shwIOT
Title card for a Day in the Life with an Aquarium Biologist. Biologist Tim Wong holds a chrysalis as he does butterfly care. He also dives in our Philippine Coral Reef, waters plants in the Osher Rainforest, and feeds penguins.
January 1, 2026 at 5:15 PM
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From glowing anemones to bioluminescent cuttlefish, bright sea polyps to radiant jellyfish — these aren’t your typical holiday lights. They’re the glittering residents of Steinhart Aquarium, and they’re decking the halls all year long. 🪸🪼
Glowing pink cuttlefish against a blue background. Glowing pink jellyfish inside a cylindrical tank at Steinhart Aquarium. Glowing green zoanthids in the Steinhart Aquarium. Bright yellow sea polyps.
December 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Save the date for a day of memories, music, and mementos honoring the life and legacy of Claude, San Francisco’s beloved albino alligator. Join us for a free community celebration on Jan. 18 11am-1pm in Golden Gate Park, or worldwide via livestream. bit.ly/ClaudeForever
December 23, 2025 at 12:13 AM
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The only thing better than a gingerbread house? A gingerbread reef! Adorned with anemones and crowned with corals, this reef replica is almost as intricate as the real thing. Created by Steinhart Aquarium biologists Tim and Kelsey, and approved by visiting culinary expert, Tiny Chef.
December 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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December is halfway over, but we’re still looking for sea stars! 🌊⭐

Scroll to see incredible sea stars observed across the California Coast & uploaded to the iNaturalist app. Find low tide information at bit.ly/tide-finder and details about the Solstice Sea Star Search at bit.ly/SeaStar25.
December 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
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The internet’s favorite little herbivore and our guest, Tiny Chef, is here and ready to show you what he’s baked up! 🥖🫑🥕

Tiny Chef, Big Impact opens tomorrow, 12/13 and features a new short film in Morrison Planetarium, a mini-exhibit, and more. Tix here: bit.ly/490qxHb
Tiny Chef stands on a flower in the Osher Rainforest and points at a butterfly resting nearby.
December 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM
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It's with heavy hearts that we share that Claude, our beloved albino alligator, has passed away at the age of 30. Claude brought joy to millions of people at the Academy and across the world during his 17 year tenure. We will miss him dearly. 🤍
Claude, an American alligator with albinism, lounging on his favorite heated rock.
December 2, 2025 at 10:22 PM
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Our penguins want YOU to support the Academy this #GivingTuesday!

Your donations directly support our 60,000+ Aquarium residents, groundbreaking biodiversity research, and our work demystifying science for millions—at a time when scientific inquiry & cultural institutions need it most.
Two African penguins are clustered close together, holding a cartoon drawing of a 100 dollar bill in their beaks. Two speech bubbles emerge from both animals, with the first reading "More Money" and the second reading "more fish!" A group of other African penguins mill about in the background of the image.
December 2, 2025 at 4:34 PM
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Butterfly this, butterfly that—what we really need to talk about are MOTHS!
An illustrated image with a black backdrop shows a close-up cut out of a moth, titled “We love Moths. (and so should you!)” The moth is surrounded by three clusters of text with arrows pointing to the moth. They read: “furry, colorful, unique! Outnumbers butterflies 10:1! Active pollinators & food sources!”
November 26, 2025 at 6:31 PM
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Shellmounds, sacred Ohlone sites used as burial places and gathering areas, were constructed by Indigenous people to connect with their ancestors, each other, and the land. Shellmounds can be found throughout the Bay Area & helped inspire the design of the Ohlone garden on the Academy’s Living Roof.
Close up of abalone shells on the Ohlone garden on Cal Academy's Living Roof.
November 25, 2025 at 4:56 PM
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BREAKING NEWS: California sea stars WANT you to photograph them, actually!

In our December cover story, we dive into Solstice Sea Star Search, a monthlong quest to document California’s sea stars.
Mock cover of the fictional magazine, ‘Sea Star,’ designed in the style of tabloids and celebrity magazines of the early 2000s. This December 2025 edition is headlined, ‘BEGGING TO BE NOTICED,’ overlaid atop a cutout of a giant pink sea star against a backdrop of eelgrass. The subheader reads “WHY echinoderms demand more paparazzi from human allies.” An additional text underneath reads “PLUS: CA’S Coolest Sea Stars Alive, 2025 limited edition spread!” next to a cut out of a bat star. In the side panel, three images are shown with text atop them. From top to bottom: A yellow juvenile sunflower star is shown with text describing its “Life-changing diagnosis!”; a woman holding a camera walks across a moody, misty tide pool, with a text overlay reading, “INSIDE: Fast and easy hacks to be a better friend to sea stars”; a purple sea urchin nestled amid eelgrass, with text overlay reading “Purple urchins: PR crisis for CA native.” Mock inside page of the fictional magazine, ‘Sea Star,’ shows cutouts of various sea stars with two major text boxes. The first, an editor’s note, reads: “December marks the start of the Winter Solstice Sea Star Search. We want YOU to go out to the California coast and make observations of as many sea stars as you can—all month long! Don’t know what to look for? Swipe for a who’s who of California sea stars.” The second text box, titled “COVER STORY: Life-changing sea star diagnosis,” includes this text: “HUGE news in the world of Sunflower Sea Stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides)! In August, scientists revealed the cause for Sea Star Wasting Disease—a deadly condition that killed billions of sea stars up and down the North American Coast. Read more at bit.ly/3Lm7yO9.” An image of a sunflower star is included next to the text. The logo for the Solstice Sea Star Search campaign is included on the page.
November 24, 2025 at 6:03 PM
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Our exhibit, California: State of Nature, features stunning commissioned works by Indigenous artists across the state. From necklaces beaded with abalone shells to paddles carved out of native plants, each piece represents the longstanding deep connections between humans and the natural world.
A woven bust with a zig-zag tattoo design is shown against a black backdrop, wearing a woman’s necklace (called hi l’e’l hi sam’e’leč hi l’en’eneq). The necklace was created by Tima Lotah Link (Šmuwič Chumash). Close ups of the same necklace are pictured side by side, with abalone shells and woven plants shown in close detail. Text reads “This item was created to honor the connections between land and sea. The bust includes a tattoo with a water design. Materials used. Juncus, dogbane, three-leaf sumac, red abalone, asphaltum or tar.”
November 21, 2025 at 6:25 PM
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Blello fwends, we have BIG news: Tiny Chef is coming to Cal Academy this December! 🎊✨
Tiny Chef, a small green creature with a spherical body and slender arms, stands amid a patch of grass and flowers while smelling a bright yellow daffodil. Tiny Chef wears his signature outfit of a striped apron, red-heart glasses, and a chef’s toque.
November 19, 2025 at 6:27 PM
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Love maps? (Us too.) Interested in learning more about biodiversity and helping science? (Ditto.)

This Wednesday, join Cal Academy researchers for a free, virtual georeferencing training session. 🌱

Learn more and register here: bit.ly/4qJoVbP
November 17, 2025 at 5:46 PM
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The otters are taking in the crisp autumn air, the salt marsh harvest mice are cozying up under the pickleweed, and the golden chanterelles are aglow. Scroll to see how our California native species are spending the fall. 🍂🧣🥧
A sea otter floats in the water, holding up its paws, surrounded by yellow floating kelp. A salt marsh harvest mouse nestles in pickleweed. A California quail stands on the ground surrounded by red fallen leaves.
November 14, 2025 at 5:27 PM
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If your circle isn’t talking about how your favorite fall/winter California nature event elucidates the nuances of your personality… it’s time to find a new circle.
November 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Dust off your wellies, throw on some layers, and grab a flashlight, because winter tide pool season is officially here! 🐚🪸🐙🦀🌊

November through December is your best shot at seeing unique intertidal creatures along the California Coast—like colorful nudibranchs, sea stars, kelp forests, and more.
November 4, 2025 at 5:33 PM
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Leaf-tailed geckos > raking leaves. Swipe to see our Academy critters getting in the fall spirit with some seasonally-appropriate camouflage. (They actually look like this year-round, but don’t tell the leaves.)

Ft. 1) Leaf-tailed gecko 2) Weedy seadragon 3) Weedy scorpionfish 4) Leaf insect
November 3, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Spaghetti and delicata and acorn squash, and even zucchini and pumpkin, are literally all the same species. Don’t believe us? Swipe to see how Cucurbita pepo can include so many varieties 🎃
Illustrated image shows a wooden basket full of different squashes (zucchini, delicata, pumpkin, etc), with a sign popping out the back reading “These are all the same species (no, really). Tendrils of squash stems float down from the top of the page. Illustrated image titled “Cucurbita pepo” shows a bundle of acorn squash and other vegetables at the bottom of the screen, framed by pumpkin leaf cutouts. Text reads “many of the squash we eat come from the plant family cucurbiticeae—yet many fall under the exact same species! Here’s how one species, cucurbita pepo, came to include so many varieties.”
October 27, 2025 at 4:39 PM
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#NationalVetTechWeek is nearly over, but we’re always celebrating our amazing Animal Health biologists and the work they do to keep our non-human colleagues happy & healthy!
Jessica, a biologist, holds up an ochre star over a blue tub, observing the animal while wearing blue surgical gloves. Isaac, a biologist, prepares an x-ray scan for a small tomato frog named Kumato, who is sitting in a small tank.
October 17, 2025 at 5:28 PM
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Us after a month of celebrating an alligator’s 30th hatchday.

[Video description: A beaded lizard—a black reptile with yellow splotches on its body—opens its mouth in a long yawn, repositioning its limbs on the mulch floor.]
October 1, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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So you’ve been keeping up with Claude all month long, writing fan mail and acing Tuesday Trivia — but are you ready to test your Claude IQ? As Claude’s hatch-month draws to a close, see what you’ve learned with our bespoke alligator quiz here: calacademy.org/claudequiz
September 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM