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A trip to the Academy

Posted on by Sarah B.

In another adventure with my nephews, we headed to the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. We were awed by Indy, the new Indricotherium who is the best advertisement ever for the Academy’s new “Extreme Mammals” exhibition. The Indricotherium is the largest land mammal ever discovered weighing in at 20 tons, or roughly the equivalent of 3 adult elephants. See Indy around the Richmond District

Did we actually see the exhibit? Nope. Turns out that like the Planetarium, you need to get passes for the Extreme Mammals show. We didn’t pick up on that upon arriving (where were the signs?) so once we got to the second level (Forum level) to go in, we were stopped dead in our tracks; only tickets for late afternoon were available. So if you’re headed to see Extreme Mammals, first thing to do is head right up to the Forum level and get your passes.

I also discovered a past resident of Golden Gate Park: Monarch the grizzly bear. You’ll find him in a case near Indy on the ground floor. He was captured in 1889 and lived in Golden Gate Park until 1911, when he died of old age. Anyone know where in the park he lived?

As always, I loved looking at all the fish on the bottom level of the Academy. The kids loved the tidepools and the albino alligator is always a big hit.

Sarah B.


4 Comments

  1. If I’m not mistaken the alligator is the fellow who lived over at Mountain Lake for a while

  2. sarah-

    from your pix looks like we were standing next to each other the whole time AND both did the same thing regarding the extreme mammal thing. YES where is the info about needing a pass? if only i had read a twitter tip BEFORE going! lucky i can go again with membership. still it was what i went for and after viewing the main floor i was like, this is it!?!

    not sure where in the park monarch was eventually housed, but i read that he was living in the bear pit in the concourse during the midwinter fair. monarch is such an icon and representative of the zoo which i am an enthusiast of the residents that live there.

    david- i don’t think the mountain lake alligator was white. i remember when it was caught it was at the zoo for awhile, but i don’t remember where it went. i’m pretty sure claude (white one) was a get for the new exhibit. its roommate bonnie had to be sent elsewhere becuz they didn’t get along.

    cheers
    kim~

  3. STOP THE PRESSES!!!

    I just had an opportunity to ask a biologist at The Academy about the albino alligator, and she says no: theirs came from a breeder, not from Mountain Lake.

    So whatever happened to the one caught in Mountain Lake? It remains a mystery.

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