First off, the space is absolutely beautiful, with great natural lighting, high ceilings, and even though it was crowded you wouldn't know it. Preschoolers don't do well with crowds, or waiting in lines, so architecturally the Academy of Sciences is designed well for small children.
The Academy of Sciences is four museums wrapped into one. It has a four-story rain forest, the small Kimball Natural History Museum, the Steinhart Aquarium and Morrison Planetarium. The planetarium is only open to those four and older, and not recommended for children under six, so we didn't have the opportunity to explore it.
The natural history museum is small and low key, it isn't the focal point, but the boys appreciated seeing the dinosaur bones. The real gems are the four-story rain forest and the aquarium.
The rain forest is encased in glass. It winds it way up from a swamp with large fish to butterflies among the tree tops. The exhibit features a beautiful and colorful array of lizards, newts and dart frogs. Caleb who loves looking at little things had a blast. Xander was a bit bored, and I think Jonathan and my mother in law thought it was a bit warm (which it was).
Once you go through the rain forest you take the elevator to the basement. The attendants check you for butterflies (which love to sit on hats and shoulders). The elevator puts you under the swamp, and in the heart of the aquarium.
The best part of the aquarium was the white crocodile and the giant octopus. When we asked Caleb and Xander what their favorite part was these two were definitely the highlight of the afternoon.
We've noticed that it costs at least $50 for a family of four to go to a museum or an aquarium these days, even when children under five get in free. The cost could be prohibitive for many families, and that is a bummer.
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