I know, I know, another late post.  I apologize, things have been ramping up on a few other projects that I have going on so I’ve been suffering from sever CPT.  Last week I got the chance to visit a new event (changing it up a bit this week, this is not a club review) that has been receiving a lot of buzz around the Bay Area lately so I was itching to investigate.  By coincidence one of my good friends was having a going away party there, so it gave me an extra incentive to make the trek out to Golden Gate Park.  Here’s my review of Nightlife at The Academy of Sciences (every Thursday until 10/09):

Nightlife: The Academy of Sciences

Positives: Booze at a museum?  How can you go wrong with that? The Academy of Sciences is a beautiful venue and this is a great way to check it out.  They are able to attract some pretty good DJs to spin and provide a great nightlife ambiance throughout the Academy.  The crowd is extremely diverse with people ranging in age and background (obviously it’s +21), at first I was a little taken aback, but it’s a museum after all so it makes sense.  The event is only open from 6pm until 10pm, but I find that’s great for an after work drink or two and some good ole’ mingling.  Even though the tickets sell out quickly (which happens frequently so buy your tickets early!), I never felt overwhelmed by foot traffic.  They did a good job of spreading out the bar stations around different areas, lines were quick and bartenders were satisfactory.

Negatives:  Boozin’ at a museum is good thing, but can turn into a pain when you are restricted to stay within certain areas.  I completely understand this in some cases, for example the albino alligator exhibit has an open display, drinks can easily slip and fall into the alligator’s tank below - I get it, but I was pretty bummed.  The food they offer is pretty over priced in my opinion, unless you head over to the food court where prices are more reasonable. Speaking of prices, none of the bars take credit cards, so before heading out remember to stock up on cash,

• Location/Transportation: Located in Golden Gate park, it’s somewhat far from downtown and the freeway.  Due to the popularity of the event parking is extremely hard to come by.  I had to park in the pay lot - 10 bucks, which was kinda lame, but the alternative was walking about a mile in the park at night.  There are a few buses that go out there, but on the way out you could be waiting for a while. Lastly, I didn’t see too many cabs headed into the park, so don’t plan on that option either  Grade: 1/5
• Line: I showed up about an hour into the event, so I have no idea how long the line was before opening.  When I arrived I was able to easily get in, they have electronic scanners to expedite the process  Grade: 5/5
• Interior: Obviously, this is the main attraction.  The interior is well laid out and there’s tons of exhibits to check out.  The space is big enough so that there is no over cramping and people can stroll at their leisure Grade 4/5
• Exterior: This is a beautiful building and I really like the general idea behind Nightlife.  Ultra modern and sustainable, that’s the theme behind the design and it lends itself nicely to a lounge type event  Grade 4/5
• Drinks: Drinks are a little on the high end with mixed drinks going from $7 - $10 and $5 - $7 for a beer.  The mixed drinks would be averaged price, but the cup sizes are pretty small in my opinion.  The bars are plentiful, but like I said above they don’t take plastic, so carry cash.  Also for some reason, they don’t give out straws.   Grade: 3/5
• Services: They do offer a coat check near the entrance, it’s reasonably priced.  I like how the security team was there, but not in your face.  They did have volunteers at a few check points stopping people from taking drinks into certain areas, but that’s a different issue.  Grade 3/5
• Sound system:  One DJ stand set up, near the planetarium.  They pumped the music throughout the entire museum, but definitely kept the volume down a bit in order to keep it more of a lounge type vibe.    Grade 3/5
• Overall: At first I really did not know what to expect, I thought it was going to be like a club inside of the museum, when it kind of turned out to be more of a happy hour type thing.  By the way it’s a great place to take a date.  I plan on attending again, but don’t think this is something I’d go to every week.  Grade 23/35 

Yelp review for Nightlife: The Academy of Sciences