Some of the state’s most group-friendly venues are places that showcase biodiversity and are also at the forefront of sustainable design and practices. Here are a few to consider.
California Academy of Sciences
Located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences holds top-ranking LEED Platinum status and offers a natural history museum, the world’s largest digital planetarium, an aquarium and a four-story rainforest filled with tropical birds, butterflies, geckos and other creatures. The academy provides a multitude of event settings and options, including the chance to stargaze from the deck adjoining the massive Living Roof and its carpet of wildflowers and grasses. Docents and biologists can be on hand to speak about the exhibits, including those featuring a rare albino alligator named Claude and a flock of African penguins.
“It’s one of the most exciting and flexible venues around, where you can rent whatever space you need,” says Barbara Edwards of California Host, a local DMC. “For me, the highpoint is the planetarium. It’s not just about pointing out the stars, but how life was created.”
Oakland Museum of California
The museum recently debuted the Gallery of California Natural Sciences, part of a massive redesign that also revamped the history and art galleries. At 25,000 square feet, the vast gallery space showcases California as one of the world’s top 10 hot spots for biological diversity in the nation. The natural history gallery is available for events, as are the art and history galleries, the museum’s spacious terraced gardens, new conference room and theater, featuring audiovisual equipment. On Friday evenings, the museum takes on a festive night market vibe with food trucks, live music and featured artists.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Celebrating its centennial this year, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles emerged from a $135 million transformation. While preserving its magnificent Beaux Arts rotunda and stunning dioramas, the makeover added such features as a hanging skeleton of a fin whale strung with 33,000 LED lights and an “urban wilderness” garden fashioned from reclaimed materials where there was once a parking lot. The centerpiece of the museum is Becoming L.A., a permanent exhibit that shows how the city evolved out of the natural world while also transforming it.
The museum offers several elegant spaces for events, including the dramatic African Mammal Hall and the Grand Foyer with its Dueling Dinosaurs, complete skeletons of a tyrannosaurus rex and triceratops locked in battle. Events can include access to the entire museum for attendees.
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
Recently earning Silver LEED status for installing 10,000 square feet of solar panels and other environmentally friendly features, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park has more than 100 interactive exhibits. Visitors can create colored shadows, design images with a sand pendulum and watch a planetarium show called Sky Tonight, which is led by an astronomer and followed by outdoor telescope viewing.
Galleries at the 30,000-square-foot science center are available for dinners, cocktail receptions and award banquets, while receptions can also be held outdoors in a space overlooking the Bea Evenson Fountain. In addition, the Fleet offers space for lectures, board meetings and small group presentations. Groups can also take over the Heikoff Dome Theater, viewing IMAX digital shows or their own presentations.
