Fall 2007

While its fossil collection dates to the “dark ages,” the new California Academy of Sciences is a museum of the 21st century. Emphasizing conservation, environmental stewardship, and “green” architecture, the California Academy is preparing for a fall 2008 opening of its new home in Golden Gate Park.

Its new Koret-Taube Education Center will further strengthen the Academy’s commitment to scientific research and interactive education. One of the 10 largest natural museums in the world, the Academy anticipates greeting over 2 million annual guests once the new facility opens.

“This project advances our interest in bringing educational resources to a broad cross-section of constituents,” said Koret President and Taube Philanthropies Chairman Tad Taube.

The 370,000-square-foot Academy will boast modernized facilities that cater to children, families, and educators alike. The new building will feature an expanded early childhood education center for children up to age six, a new, state-of-the-art auditorium, and substantially renovated Steinhart Aquarium and Morrison Planetarium.

The Koret-Taube Education Center, named in recognition of contributions from the Koret Foundation in collaboration with Taube Philanthropies, will house hightech classrooms and laboratories, as well as the Naturalist Center, which encompasses a library, a catalogue of scientific specimens, and technology resources for educators and scholars.

The new Academy is one of 10 pilot “green” building projects of the San Francisco Department of the Environment that will employ energy-efficient technologies such as wind-capture ventilation and gray water recycling, consuming approximately 50 percent less energy than a standard building.

Designed by Pritzker Prize laureate Renzo Piano of Genoa, Italy, the Academy will feature an undulating “living rooftop” covered with California native plants and glass expanses that serve as skylights. Mr. Piano’s innovative design creates more usable square footage on a smaller footprint of land and will actually return one acre to Golden Gate Park.

“The idea will be to make the building itself into an exhibit,” with its living rooftop and integrated architecture, said California Academy Executive Director Gregory Farrington.