San Francisco - California Academy of Sciences

Must-see attractions nearby: Golden Gate Bridge Alcatraz Island Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden Chinatown Palace of the Legion of Honor Palace of Fine Arts

The roof also has solar panels to generate electricity, and the soil acts as natural insulation. The walls are largely made of glass allowing for natural light.

But the museum is more than just the building, inside is an incredible natural history museum, planetarium, aquarium, rainforest, and more. The Steinhart Aquarium includes some 38,000 live specimens, and a 25 feet deep coral reef. The rainforest is four stories high with all kinds of animals and amphibians in a fantastic layout. You can even descend in a glass elevator to the deepest depths where you end up looking up through an acrylic tunnel to see fish swimming overhead. The Kimball Natural History Museum has skeletons of a T-Rex and blue whale and all kinds of interesting exhibits. You'll want to allow some time to explore all there is to see and do at this expansive museum.