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.

Claude’s turning 30. Maybe you’ve heard? This Thursday night, we’re ringing in his new decade with the ultimate birthday bash. Think giveaways, crafts, cake, and Piña Claude-as, all capped off with a swamp-side celebration — because you only turn 30 once. Get tickets here: bit.ly/4nhpoPK

Ready, set, Claude Quest! Claude plushies (and accompanying prizes) have been hidden around the Academy and the Bay Area: think Academy tickets, a family membership, and more. Check the full list of prize locations here to begin the search: bit.ly/4ndQrLP Happy questing! 🐊🤍

It’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s a free Claude plushie! Claude Quest is BACK. Starting tomorrow, you can find Claude plushies hidden around some of the Bay Area’s most beloved spots. Check back then for the list of prize locations, with a chance to win Academy tickets, a family membership, and more.

It’s Claude Trivia Tuesday! Alligators are *constantly* losing teeth. They can replace each one up to 50 times, going through thousands in their lifetime. This characteristic, called polyphyodonty, is beneficial for apex predators, who need to maintain sharp, strong teeth to hunt effectively.

Calling all California nature lovers: Can YOU find the most biodiversity? 🦌🌵🦆🐞🐛🐟🌲🍁🦎

Find someone who looks at you like Dr. Elora López-Nandam looks at these juvenile corals in our Coral Regeneration Lab. 😍 🪸

Goodbye, so long, see you later! Our dinosaurs are headed back to the Cretaceous period. Be sure to swing by before September 1 to wish them well. 🦖🦕🦖 Get the last tickets to Dino Days at: bit.ly/3H8xCKO

Calling all cake artisans, Great British Bakeoff enthusiasts, and people who REALLY love Pycnopodia helianthoides! Can you make a sunflower sea star cake that will impress Academy scientists? Maybe you want to tackle sea-urchin-inspired entremets or (for the ambitious) an entire kelp forest?

Raising one baby is hard enough. Now multiply that by 10,000 and you’ve got a sea star spawn.

On this #NationalPotatoDay, if your circle isn’t discussing the sea potato, it's time to find a new circle. 🥔 The sea potato is, shockingly, not really a potato, but actually a type of urchin that burrows in the sand.

Life is about looking at Pacific spiny lumpsuckers, in case you forgot.

YOU’RE INVITED: CLAUDE’S 30th HATCHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA IS HERE! 🎂🎉🐊🤍

Celebrate the kickoff of the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival (BAIDDF) with dynamic performances, community connection, and Deaf cultural pride. Join us as we come together to honor Deaf artistry and cross-cultural creativity. Get your tickets here: bit.ly/4mxcoW2

Those endless waves of seagrass that cover the California coast might appear unremarkable—but they’re bastions of biodiversity that have both supported Indigenous culture and flourished under Native stewardship for centuries.

After a decade of devastation — and a decade of research — ecologists have finally identified what seems to be causing sea star wasting disease.

Your face when you realize you’re about to miss out on our summer exhibits 😱 Dino Days closes Sept 1, and Unseen Oceans closes Sept 7. Get your tickets now at: bit.ly/3H8xCKO

Don your cowboy boots – NightLife is serving up a whole lot of western flair. Get ready for mechanical bull riding, line dancing, rope trick demos, and an evening that’s guaranteed to be ace high. 🤠 🐎 Get tickets here: bit.ly/476xJRp

Distracting ourselves from the gloomy SF summer by admiring our colorful rainforest residents, who spend every day basking in the warmth of their temperature-controlled dome.

Can we offer you a motivational Methuselah poster for these trying times? 🙇

“Who’s the prettiest snake in the world? It’s you! Who, me? Stop it, you!” — Our red-tailed ratsnake to its own reflection, probably.

Did somebody say moss merch? 👀🌱 You can win this poster by Ricardo Kriebel celebrating all things moss! All you have to do is join our Plants to Pixels project to help transcribe specimen labels. Learn more here: bit.ly/3zKk8AE

Sustainable fashion > hyper-fast fashion trends. ♻️  Join us for a night of hands-on creativity with a clothing swap, junk journaling, mending workshops, and more! We’re spotlighting local artists and changemakers who know how to give things a 2nd (or 3rd) life. Tix here: bit.ly/3Ii1vbL

Thousands of you have searched the tide pools, combed the shoreline, and photographed California’s amazing biodiversity—and now the results are in for the 10th annual Snapshot Cal Coast campaign! 🐙🌊🪸

The green crested basilisk has a special talent: it can run on water. 🏃💧

Dino Days is still going strong, and we’ve gotten to know our prehistoric residents a whole lot better (flaws and all). Get tickets for Dino Days here: bit.ly/42HxYPk