Living the NightLife

Picture this: girls in flapper dresses sip their cocktails while fish swim overhead. Looking up through the  aquarium, you can see a rain forest towering even further overhead, and young men sporting jaunty hats and dashing jackets wind their way up through the rainforest swarming with butterflies. They look down and laugh, seeing the people (us) who seem to be swimming underwater at the floor of the rainforest.

That was one of the surreal moments I experienced at the California Academy of Sciences last night. It was Thursday night, when the museum puts on an adult-only party that brings out the inner child. Last night's theme was Prohibition Era, and many people came dressed in costume to enjoy the cocktails, music, and displays. Ken Burns' new documentary on Prohibition was screened, as well, accompanied by a wine tasting. 

I've been to NightLife about three times since the museum re-opened it's doors in September of 2008, and it's an awesome way to experience the $500 million new building, with it's extensive aquarium, 4-story rainforest, state-of-the-art planetarium, and beautiful living roof. When the museum first opened, NightLife was off the hook like a crazy club scene, with long lines and packed dance floors. It's mellowed a bit since then, but still draws a decent crowd.

Last night, as I stood on the roof with an architect friend visiting from Beijing, we looked at the de Young museum, an SF icon in its own right which was darkly glowing in the fog, from the roof of the Cal Academy, and agreed that the fog made the experience even better. Then we took our cocktails and headed downstairs for more NightLife.

Interested in checking it out? NightLife runs from 6pm to 10pm every Thursday night. Tickets cost $12 per adult, $10 for members. You have to be 21 or up to go, and they do card. For more info, go the Cal Academy NightLife page.