Tenji has taken their white van and converted into a moving piece of art! The artwork, entitled “Fabric of Life” by the Alaskan artist Ray Troll, was installed by the good folks at Monterey Signs. Today is its first day out on the road but so far it is turning lots of heads.
After four years, the California Academy of Sciences is back in Golden Gate Park bigger and better than ever! The Academy is the only place in the world with an aquarium, a planetarium and a natural history museum all under one roof. That means you can go on a journey from the depths of the ocean, through living tropical rainforests, to remote islands filled with bizarre and ancient life and into the far reaches of the cosmos all in one visit.
Tenji designed the aquatic systems for the more that 140 aquariums and terrariums that are part of the Academy’s Steinhart Aquarium. The exhibits include the world’s deepest living coral reef tank, which will be home to 4,000 colorful tropical fishes. Don’t forget to look for such cool animals as an albino alligator, prehistoric alligator gars, penguins and beautiful day geckos from Madagascar (hint: they look like the Geico Gecko, but smaller!), among many others. You’ll also find dinosaur skeletons along with a skeleton of the largest bird to ever walk the Earth, the elephant bird.
The exhibits are just part of the story. The building’s special in its own right, with open spaces, swooping lines and sculptures. It’s already won awards for its green design features. One of the coolest things about it is its living roof! The undulating, soil-covered roof is covered with nearly two-million plants native to the central California coast. The plants will provide habitat for birds, butterflies and other beneficial insects. What with wildlife, wildflowers and a sweeping view of Golden Gate Park, the roof can be a destination unto itself!
Only six more days before the new California Academy of Sciences opens to the public. Below are some images of a few of the exhibits as they look today.
See the special, CAL ACADEMY COMES TO LIFE, which has just aired on KQED’s QUEST:
Here is an interesting virtual tour of facility:
As of today, 747,136 people have visited the Amazon Voyage exhibit. A detailed report can be viewed by clicking this link.
Tenji designed the living components of this very popular travelling exhibition.
Progress on the more than 140 aquaria and terriums at the California Academy of Sciences continues to move forward. Below are some progress shots and videos of the Steinhart Aquarium as it comes to life.
Aquarist planting and maintaining corals.
Amazon tunnel.
Aquarist working on an exhibit.
Penguin exhibit (wide shot).
Penguin exhibit (close shot).
Penguin exhibit (underwater shot).
Lionfish exhibit.
Piranha exhibit.
Chad Widmer, a senior aquarist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, has written a new book on jellyfish husbandry called How To Keep Jellyfish In Aquariums: An Introductory Guide For Maintaining Healthy Jellies.
Chad's new book on jellyfish husbandry.
I just got my copy today and could not help but read the whole thing at one sitting. This book contains a treasure trove of information which Chad has picked up in his years of working and noodling about cnidarians. I had the great pleasure of working with Chad at MBA and was always impressed with his quest to find new and better ways to culture and maintain jellyfish, as well as his methodical scientific method for testing his ideas. This book lays out many of his findings in one convenient location.
A must have for any jellyfish aquarist! You can purchase a copy from Wheatmark by clicking this link.
Tenji sponsored this years’ two day event for ocean literacy at the SKIDOMPHA library in Damariscotta, Maine. For the first day, Tenji had well over 200 participants for a gyotaku, or fish printing workshop, where the fish were painted and an impression was made on t-shirts. On the second day, Tenji sponsored a drum concert with the band Inanna.
Poster for the fish printing and concert.
Tenji was awarded the contract for building three new exhibits at the Anchorage Museum and Imaginarium in Anchorage, Alaska. The exhibits will displays moon jellies, reptiles (alligator, snapping turtles, and lizards), and a touch tank.
The new Anchorage Museum.
You can read more about the expansion here.
The Steinhart Aquarium, part of the California Academy of Sciences, is well under construction and is starting to take form for its September 27th opening to the public. Tenji has been setting up life support systems for everything from lungfish, to giant pacific octopus and spiders.
Some quick facts about the project:
* Year the California Academy of Sciences was founded: 1853
* Year the Steinhart Aquarium opened: 1923
* Size of new Coral Reef Exhibit: 212,000-gallon tank with four thousand fish-the deepest living coral display in the world
* Components of the new museum: Kimball Natural History Museum, Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium
* Returning favorites: The Swamp, Foucault’s Pendulum, African Hall, the Penguins
* Number of scientific research departments: eight
* Total number of natural history specimens: more than 20 million
* Number of building structures in the old museum: Twelve
* Number of building structures in the new museum: One
* Total public space in new Academy: 106,230 square feet
* Total square footage: 410,000 square feet
* Total green space created by the living roof: 2.5 acres
Below are some images of the project under construction:
Finally, here is a video overview of the facility:
And a video of the aquarium being stocked:
One of Tenji’s principals, Andy Case, was interviewed by CalAquaria for their new feature video.
