The California Academy of Sciences is one of the ten largest natural history museums in the world. It is located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The Steinhart Aquarium and the Morrison Planetarium are housed within its walls. The Academy began life in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, though its main role is now public education. The Academy's main buildings in Golden Gate Park are closed for major refurbishment until 2008, though it has reopened in temporary accommodation at 875 Howard Street as of May 1, 2004.



As plans were made to repair the damage and make the buildings seismically stable, it was realised that a considerable amount of work would be needed to bring the buildings up to modern standards. This led to the idea of giving the Academy a complete overhaul, thus motivating the current closure of the main site. On September 12, 2005 construction began on the new building, while the exhibits were moved to 875 Howard Street for a temporary museum. The main contractor for this museum replacement project is Webcor Builders. When reopened in 2008, the new building will be at the forefront of environmentally-friendly design, in keeping with the Academy's focus on environmental concerns. As a result of its environmentally-friendly design and other unique features, this project was featured on the Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering series in 2006.