As part of the Biotechnology Institute (BTI) program, a science-based program at my school, we went on a field trip to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. It was morning when all of the BTI sophomores and juniors hopped on the school buses to take us up to San Francisco. I was on a bus with my friends, other sophomores, and some juniors. My friends and I were talking about have we haven't been to the Academy of Sciences since middle school. We were so excited to see the aquarium and rainforest area.
Once we arrived, there was a huge building where the entrance had floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors. Behind, there was a Tyrannosaurus rex, also known as a T-rex skeleton wearing a vibrant green cloth mask. We were broken up into teams of twelve with one teacher chaperone.
My group decided to first visit the aquarium section, which included living organisms from the California coast, Philippine coral reef, and twilight zone. The most mesmerizing part to me was the jellyfish. Some of them were in a glass cylinder with lights that change colors, which reflected on the moon jellyfishes. There were also Pacific sea nettle jellyfishes. I loved their bright orange and yellow complexion. It made them stand out against the dark blue water, almost like they were glowing.
Another part of the aquarium, I liked was the floor-to-ceiling tank that wrapped around a corner. There was so much biodiversity with many fishes and so many colors of coral and sea anemone. The coral isn't damaged like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia due to the closed system, which allows it to have so many colors, rather than faded and dull. There is no carbon dioxide that acts like a syringe that exacts the beautiful colors away.
There was also a rainforest area in a dome-like structure, where macaws and butterflies are. I wasn’t able to see them up close, since the line waiting to go in wrapped around the dome, but based on my old memories, I remember this blue butterfly that had wings that changed colors based on how the light hit it. This is due to the structure of their scales. They aren’t actually blue, it just happens to be because of how the light hits them differently than other butterflies. In reality, the butterfly’s wings are a dull brown.
Overall, I enjoyed the field trip, since it was like a bonding experience relative to science, along with sparking old memories.
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