Grab a friend and head outside because there’s just 🚨ONE MORE DAY LEFT🚨 to make observations for the 2026 City Nature Challenge! After today, you can still *upload* your photos onto @inaturalist.bsky.social—but they need to be *photographed* between April 24–27 to count as part of the challenge.

It’s not too late to join the world’s largest annual community science event! Three easy steps: get outside, photograph wild nature, and share it on the free @inaturalist.bsky.social app. 👀🤳

Right now, thousands of people all around the world are getting outside and documenting their local nature to help science and conservation. Here are just a few highlights from the first 24 hours of the 11th annual City Nature Challenge. ✨

🌷🐝🌳IT’S CITY NATURE CHALLENGE TIME! 🐿️🪺🐚

The baby blues are back & better than ever! This month, Academy scientists, partners, and volunteers released dozens of silvery blue butterflies (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) in the Presidio, as part of ongoing efforts to restore ecosystem function & support butterfly populations in the Bay Area.

Did you know that pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food you eat? If that wasn’t enough, pollinating bats are the reason you can drink tequila 🤯

This #TransDayOfVisibility, we’re highlighting our favorite queer ecology reads. These books, essays, and memoirs break down binaries and explore the expansiveness of gender & identity in nature.

🦋🦋 BIG BLUE BUTTERFLIES JUST DROPPED! 🦋🦋 Come to the Rainforest in the next week to walk through a cloud of irridescent, fluttering blue morpho butterflies (Morpho peleides). Our biologists recently released 150 of these butterflies, bringing extra vibrance to the dome.

We’re celebrating the bright yellow, tiny-but-mighty Panamanian Golden Frog this #WorldFrogDay! 🐸🌟

We’re celebrating our 173rd birthday on March 26 and you’re invited! Our Academy residents even pulled out their party hats. 🥳 (Please tell Morla she looks nice.) Pay-what-you-can tickets are available starting as low as $5 so everyone can party under our Living Roof.

WANTED: California clovers and milkvetches! ☘️🌿 Help botanists & scientists by adding more photos of Trifolium and Astragalus species on iNaturalist.

YOUR 2026 PENGUIN POWER COUPLE: 👑🐧❤️KIANGA & DUNKER! ❤️🐧👑 Congrats to our foster parent icons, who were crowned this beautiful Valentines Day morning. Thanks to everyone who participated, and stay up-to-date with all our lovebirds (and their drama) every day at our live penguin cam on YouTube.

🚨🐧 LAST CHANCE TO PICK YOUR PENGUIN POWER COUPLE! 🚨🐧 In the final face-off, we have old guard vs. new kids on the block: It’s ❤️Kianga & Dunker❤️ against 🤍Fyn & Iggie🤍

The inaugural Penguin Power Couple will be (literally) crowned TOMORROW! But first, head to bit.ly/PenguinPowerCouples to make your final choice. Will the coveted crown go to newcomers Fyn & Iggie or veterans Kianga & Dunker? Tune into our livestream on 2/14 at 10:30 am on YouTube to find out.

Grab some herring, settle into your nest box, and get ready to vote for your next Penguin Power Couples, Semifinal 2: Opal & Pete vs. Iggie and Fyn 🐧🐧✨

In support of our local community and San Francisco’s youth, we’re offering free non-holiday weekday general admission for SFUSD students and discounted admission for caregivers during school closures. More information on free admission here: bit.ly/4tnhI…

The love-fest is HEATING UP and two more Penguin Power Couples are facing off in Semifinal 1: Kianga & Dunker versus Ty & Robben 🐧🐧✨

HEY LOVEBIRDS! It’s time to vote for more iconic Penguin Power Couples 🐧💌 Yesterday, Kianga & Dunker and Ty & Robben waddled away as winners of their face-offs. Head to bit.ly/PenguinPowerCouples to vote every day thru Feb. 13. Our polls open daily at 12 am and close at 11:59 pm PT.

Attention lovebirds: It’s time to crown your favorite Penguin Power Couple 🐧💌🐟 Our 8 bonded African penguin pairs have enough love to go around, but they’re looking for a different kind of adoration this week: Your votes! Head to bit.ly/PenguinLove26 every day thru Feb. 13 to vote on iconic pairs.

Presenting year 3 of the highly anticipated niche wetlands meme: Which wetland are you? #WorldWetlandsDay

You asked and we delivered: The final new species in this week’s roundup is (another) deep sea fish! Plectranthias raki might be shy, but thanks to the work of Cal Academy researchers, it’s finally getting the spotlight it deserves. Footage from Maldives © 2022 Rolex SA

With thousands of touchable specimens and objects featured in our new Nature Lab, we have thousands of stories we can tell! Swipe to see some of our Public Programs team’s favorite specimens and where to find them in the Nature Lab.

Join us on Sunday, 1/18 for a free outdoor community celebration of life honoring the legacy of Claude, San Francisco’s beloved albino alligator. 🤍 Hosted by Bay Area news icon Dion Lim, the memorial will take place in the Golden Gate Park Bandshell from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and will be livestreamed.

Still in need of a New Year’s Resolution? Here’s some advice our new species of 2025 might give you (if they could talk). Learn more about these species, and all the new species described by Cal Academy researchers in 2025, here: bit.ly/3Z01f66

New year, new YouTube series! 🥳 In this episode, Animal Care Manager Tim Wong takes us through his busy day as he waters a rainforest, dives in our Philippine Coral Reef, & feeds our African penguins. See more staff in this new series on our YouTube channel! Watch Tim’s episode here: bit.ly/4shwIOT

From glowing anemones to bioluminescent cuttlefish, bright sea polyps to radiant jellyfish — these aren’t your typical holiday lights. They’re the glittering residents of Steinhart Aquarium, and they’re decking the halls all year long. 🪸🪼

Save the date for a day of memories, music, and mementos honoring the life and legacy of Claude, San Francisco’s beloved albino alligator. Join us for a free community celebration on Jan. 18 11am-1pm in Golden Gate Park, or worldwide via livestream. bit.ly/ClaudeForever

The only thing better than a gingerbread house? A gingerbread reef! Adorned with anemones and crowned with corals, this reef replica is almost as intricate as the real thing. Created by Steinhart Aquarium biologists Tim and Kelsey, and approved by visiting culinary expert, Tiny Chef.

December is halfway over, but we’re still looking for sea stars! 🌊⭐ Scroll to see incredible sea stars observed across the California Coast & uploaded to the iNaturalist app. Find low tide information at bit.ly/tide-finder and details about the Solstice Sea Star Search at bit.ly/SeaStar25.

The internet’s favorite little herbivore and our guest, Tiny Chef, is here and ready to show you what he’s baked up! 🥖🫑🥕 Tiny Chef, Big Impact opens tomorrow, 12/13 and features a new short film in Morrison Planetarium, a mini-exhibit, and more. Tix here: bit.ly/490qxHb

It's with heavy hearts that we share that Claude, our beloved albino alligator, has passed away at the age of 30. Claude brought joy to millions of people at the Academy and across the world during his 17 year tenure. We will miss him dearly. 🤍

Our penguins want YOU to support the Academy this #GivingTuesday! Your donations directly support our 60,000+ Aquarium residents, groundbreaking biodiversity research, and our work demystifying science for millions—at a time when scientific inquiry & cultural institutions need it most.

Butterfly this, butterfly that—what we really need to talk about are MOTHS!

Shellmounds, sacred Ohlone sites used as burial places and gathering areas, were constructed by Indigenous people to connect with their ancestors, each other, and the land. Shellmounds can be found throughout the Bay Area & helped inspire the design of the Ohlone garden on the Academy’s Living Roof.

BREAKING NEWS: California sea stars WANT you to photograph them, actually! In our December cover story, we dive into Solstice Sea Star Search, a monthlong quest to document California’s sea stars.

Our exhibit, California: State of Nature, features stunning commissioned works by Indigenous artists across the state. From necklaces beaded with abalone shells to paddles carved out of native plants, each piece represents the longstanding deep connections between humans and the natural world.

Blello fwends, we have BIG news: Tiny Chef is coming to Cal Academy this December! 🎊✨

Love maps? (Us too.) Interested in learning more about biodiversity and helping science? (Ditto.) This Wednesday, join Cal Academy researchers for a free, virtual georeferencing training session. 🌱 Learn more and register here: bit.ly/4qJoVbP

The otters are taking in the crisp autumn air, the salt marsh harvest mice are cozying up under the pickleweed, and the golden chanterelles are aglow. Scroll to see how our California native species are spending the fall. 🍂🧣🥧

If your circle isn’t talking about how your favorite fall/winter California nature event elucidates the nuances of your personality… it’s time to find a new circle.

Dust off your wellies, throw on some layers, and grab a flashlight, because winter tide pool season is officially here! 🐚🪸🐙🦀🌊 November through December is your best shot at seeing unique intertidal creatures along the California Coast—like colorful nudibranchs, sea stars, kelp forests, and more.

Leaf-tailed geckos > raking leaves. Swipe to see our Academy critters getting in the fall spirit with some seasonally-appropriate camouflage. (They actually look like this year-round, but don’t tell the leaves.) Ft. 1) Leaf-tailed gecko 2) Weedy seadragon 3) Weedy scorpionfish 4) Leaf insect

Spaghetti and delicata and acorn squash, and even zucchini and pumpkin, are literally all the same species. Don’t believe us? Swipe to see how Cucurbita pepo can include so many varieties 🎃

#NationalVetTechWeek is nearly over, but we’re always celebrating our amazing Animal Health biologists and the work they do to keep our non-human colleagues happy & healthy!

Us after a month of celebrating an alligator’s 30th hatchday. [Video description: A beaded lizard—a black reptile with yellow splotches on its body—opens its mouth in a long yawn, repositioning its limbs on the mulch floor.]

So you’ve been keeping up with Claude all month long, writing fan mail and acing Tuesday Trivia — but are you ready to test your Claude IQ? As Claude’s hatch-month draws to a close, see what you’ve learned with our bespoke alligator quiz here: calacademy.org/claudequiz

Claude might have a smooth looking noggin, but like other American alligators, he possesses two hidden ears that allow him to hear both above and underwater.

It’s Trivia Tuesday! 🤓 Claude has a skincare routine! Once a week, Claude’s biologists will give him a scrub to help remove any algal buildup. Claude loves these scrubs and they only take place if he wants them. So, if he’s looking extra green one day, assume he just wanted to skip this week.

Want to win a poster featuring Claude and his Academy friends? 👀🐊🤍 All you have to do is join our Plants to Pixels project to help transcribe specimen labels. Volunteers who participate in the project between now and September 30, 2025 will be eligible to win. Learn more here: bit.ly/3zKk8AE

It’s another Claude Trivia Tuesday! Claude is a poikilotherm, so he relies on environmental conditions to regulate his body temperature. To warm up, he'll bask on his heated rock. To cool down, he'll take a dip in the water. Claude loves to lounge, utilizing a "sit-and-wait" hunting strategy.