Osher Rainforest at the California Academy of Sciences

As soon as you walk inside the recreated rainforest, you will be hit by the difference in humidity and temperature. The recreated rainforest is so beautiful and astonishing. There are so many free living butterflies 🦋 and spiders 🕷️ roaming around in the area. In the middle of the hall, there is a small lake where tourists can see big fishes, a glimpse of the aquarium underground. As you walk along the railing, you will see different species of insects and reptiles up to level 3. The exit is located on level 3, where the elevator will take you down to the aquarium underground to exit the rainforest. Make sure there is no butterflies or anything else attached to you before leaving.

The Rainforest Dome is the busiest spot of the building. There’s always a long line, but once you join, it goes by very quickly. Inside, the ambient air is warm and humid. Lots of butterflies fly inside this ecosystem. At the end of the tour you find yourself looking at a mirror, making sure no butterflies attach to your clothing. A fun experience.

So many things to see and different topics to learn about! Feel like the regular ticket price of $45ish is a lil pricey but once you're in you understand why. If you're a tourist the CityPass C3 bundle is a really good deal.

Such a cool place! My fiancé and I loved it the first time we visited, he proposed the second time we went ☺️

A very cool indoor rainforest. A large spiraling walkway takes you up to the top, from which you take an elevator into the basement where the Steinhart aquarium and viewing for the large amazon tank is. There is a large number of very cool and unusual species in very well scaped terrariums around the walkway on the way up. The main atrium hosts a large variety of Butterfly and tropical bird species as well, highlights including the Javan Leafbird and burnished buff tanager.