On Friday, November 21, 2025, the Associated Students of Skyline College (ASSC) and the International Student Program (ISP) collaborated to host an exciting field trip to the California Academy of Sciences, located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. It was a bright and sunny day with clear skies – perfect weather to explore the academy! The day kicked off with the students gathering at Skyline College’s Building Four pick-up loop and heading to the destination together on a bus. On the way to the museum, the staff prepared a fun and informative quiz game for the students to participate in and win prizes.
Once the students arrived at the academy, they were divided into groups for a scavenger hunt; each group had to spot and take photos of the species listed on a piece of paper. The images were then uploaded to the shared online drive. This activity allowed the students to engage thoroughly and explore the museum. Most of the groups started their exploration at the Osher Rainforest, a lush four-story rainforest filled with birds, exotic reptiles, amphibians, free-roaming butterflies, and more. The highlight of this dome was that students experienced a humid, biodiverse environment.
At the exit of the canopy, the students took an elevator down to the bioluminescent depths of the “twilight zone”, where they got to explore the Steinhart Aquarium. Here, they roamed around to discover different habitats and species, including jellyfish, seahorses, and newts. At the California Academy of Sciences, it was a must for the students to meet the celebrity – Claude, the American alligator with albinism; he can be found in the Swamp section of the aquarium.
At the end of their exploration around the academy, multiple student groups gathered at the Tusher African Hall to walk through a room filled with dioramas of African wildlife, including African lions, black lechwe, sable antelope, and more. Greeting them at the end of the hall are the live African penguins, swimming and engaging with the audience as if they were performing. These highly social penguins captured the students’ hearts, wrapping up their explorations of the academy perfectly.
By 12:30 PM, the students gathered in groups to go to lunch, depending on their food choices. After strolling around the area and enjoying lunch, the students arrived at the academy’s entrance at 2:30 PM to head back to Skyline College.
This collaboration between ASSC and ISP encouraged the students to get to know each other whilst learning about the incredible biodiversity of the Earth. For more information about future field trips, please contact Skyline Student Life (skystudentlife@smccd.edu), Skyline ASSC (skylineassc@smccd.edu), or ISP (skyinternational@smccd.edu).
Article and Photos by Mabel Lynn.
