The California Academy of Sciences is a scientific and educational institution located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1853, it is the oldest scientific institution in the state of California and one of the largest natural history museums in the world. The Academy is home to over 26 million specimens, including fossils, plants, animals, and rocks from around the world. It also houses a library with over 1.5 million volumes and an herbarium with over 7 million specimens.
The Academy’s mission is to “explore, explain, and protect the natural world.” Its research programs include marine science, earth science, astrophysics, and biodiversity. The Academy also operates a planetarium, an aquarium, and a rainforest exhibit. In addition to its work in research and education, the Academy also works to protect threatened species and habitats through its Conservation International program.
Some of the notable scientists who have worked at or been associated with the Academy include John Muir (naturalist), George Davidson (geologist), Joseph LeConte (naturalist), Edward Flanders Robb White (ornithologist), Carl Linnaeus (botanist), Charles Darwin (evolutionary biologist), Louis Pasteur (microbiologist), Marie Curie (physicist), Albert Einstein (physicist), and Richard Feynman (physicist).