The new California Academy of Sciences

Is it all right to admit that I was disappointed in the new California Academy of Sciences (CAS)? And by "disappointed" I mean "bored within half an hour." My parents and I went yesterday as a birthday thing and to see the new building and, as we kept saying, the building is wonderful. But the exhibits...I think the only fair thing is to say they didn't do much for me.

Which may very well make me a scientific philistine. I majored in English for a reason, after all. But the place just seemed so doggone earnest, so over-the-top Californian "nature is marvelous; too bad people are so rotten, except for those lovely homo pithicus types" that I, even I, native Californian that I am, wanted to burn some fossil fuels away from there.

At the gift shop, they offered a game called "Earthopoly," which suggested a lack of creativity and also parents bamboozled into buying a tedious game for worthy motives. "Players become the caretakers of wondrous locations around the planet, then increase their property value by collecting Carbon Credits and trading them in for Clean Air." Oh boy, doesn't that sound like a blast? The whole museum had a bit of an "earthopoly" feel to it. At least to me. I wish it were not so.

My personal take: go on a free Wednesday (such as today). And I hope you enjoy it more than I did.

The building, however, was very cool.