California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences
Established1853 (1853)
LocationGolden Gate Park
San Francisco, California, United States
Coordinates37°46′12″N 122°27′59″W / 37.7701°N 122.466407°W / 37.7701; -122.466407
TypeNatural history
AccreditationAAM
ASTC
Visitors1.34 million (2016)
DirectorScott D. Sampson (2020)
ArchitectRenzo Piano
Employees504 (May 2020)
Public transit access
Websitecalacademy.org

The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research. The institution is located in Golden Gate Park on the West Side of San Francisco.

Completely rebuilt in 2008, the academy's primary building in Golden Gate Park covers 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2). In early 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Academy of Sciences had around 500 employees and an annual revenue of about $33 million.