My family and I recently visited the Philippine Coral Reef Exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. I recall seeing some of the fish in the exhibit from the time many years ago when I went with my parents to a small fish market in Mindinao. What really impressed me was the that exhibit had descriptions of how some Filipinos there were working to preserve the reefs and practice sustainable fishing. This is a welcome change from hearing about the destructive practices there of dynamite fishing and cyanide fishing. If those practices sound absolutely crazy, they really happen. Filipinos are not generally known for long term thinking.
Another thing I found interesting about the musuem was the Asian food in the cafeteria. They had steamed bao, Vietnamese rolls, and pho. Number One Son had the pho. You could say that he is “phanatical” about pho. 🙂 Wasn’t cheap though.
If you are thinking about going in the near future, be aware that the museum has been wildly popular over the holidays. We bought our tickets online ahead of time and still had to wait over an hour to get in. Parking can be difficult, too. In my opinion, it was worth the wait and parking pain. There is a lot more than just the aquarium such as the rain forest exhibit and The Living Roof. If you go, plan ahead and get there early.
