Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Don Visits the California Academy of Sciences

The other day, I took Don with me to spend the day at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. This is a really neat museum- it is in a giant, beautifully designed building with an eco friendly green roof. There is an aquarium, rainforest dome, planetarium, and more! My favorites are the Philippine Coral Reef and Elephant-Nosed Fish (no kidding- they have really long noises that look like an elephant's!). It was a great experience for Don with all the people, and he handled it like a pro! He stayed really focused the entire time, and did a great job of navigating the crowds. It's really nice having Don with me- the crowd seems to part when Don walks through :)
Understandably, Don was not allowed in the exotic bird/butterfly aviary, so Don and I walked around the exhibits while my family went inside. The staff there were really nice about having Don there- they were really sorry he couldn't come in and even offered to take him to their kennel facilities (but Don and I were fine with going to another exhibit). Above, Don is sitting underneath some giant prehistoric mammal (I think that's what it is...).
Don could definitely see the fish. He liked watching the staff feed these giant catfish.
Above, Don watches the waves in the Pacific Ocean sea life tank. Poor Don- he wanted to go for a swim!
Next we saw the albino alligator then walked downstairs to the aquarium. Don was great at the stairs!
Don with the Philippine Coral Reef in the background
Me holding Don in front of the fish tank.
They had this little tunnel you could walk through, so Don and I went in. On the other side, you are in this glass sphere, and you can look up and see all the tropical fish. Don was more interested in the air vent than the fish though.
What's that?? Don saws these two fish (I think they are Angel Fish) and it caught his attention. It was pretty cute :)
They had a bridge that went over the entry way of the museum, so I took Don and it didn't phase him. Later we went to the planetarium (again, they were really nice about Don and showed me where a seat was with extra room for him to stretch out). Don was pretty tired for the long day, and fell fast asleep while I watched the show Journey to the Stars. It was amazing- it actually felt like I was moving and you could see all the stars and planets in 3D.
Don and I both had a fun time!! We'll be back again.

4 comments:

  1. I love that place! It's so beautifully designed. We took Cabana there when she was in training. It looks like Don did a great job. I have to laugh at his slouchy sit in some of the photos--Cabana sits the same way.

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  2. I find it really interesting they have a kennel facility--is it for people with actual guide/service dogs that want to go in the butterfly exhibit? Are they legally allowed to refuse a service dog in the butterfly exhibit? I'm guessing not, although they probably have the kennels for the people that are more considerate and don't actually NEED to bring their service dog in. I haven't actually heard of it before, but it's a good idea!

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  3. Don looks so grown up, and is doing a great job. I agree, it's surprisint to hear that they have kennels there! Sounds like a fun day for all!

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  4. I was a bit confused too about the whole kennel thing- I think it was actually for service dogs. I was reading online, and it says that service dogs can be prohibited from places where they would come in direct contact with other animals (I can understand this- for the safety of the service dog & other animal.). I'm guessing that's why they had a kennel, since the birds and butterflys would land on the people. Don didn't go to the kennel cause I was fine with not going in, so I'm not really sure what there like. One employee said something about going in a certain part of the exhibit with my dog (I'm guessing a place where you don't come in contact with animals) but she was sort of confusing :)

    I never knew that service dogs can be prohibited from a public place, but I guess there are some exceptions!

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