San Francisco's Steinhart Aquarium Turns 100

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 3 October 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Steinhart Aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences turned 100 this fall. It’s just eight years older than Methusaleh, the 92-year-old lungfish that arrived in 1938. The aquarium is home to 60,000 animals representing 1,000 species. Steinhart was the first public aquarium to display flashlight fish and coconut octopuses and found innovative ways to showcase the ocean’s mysterious “twilight zone.” As the Steinhart celebrates its century mark, questions remain about the role aquariums play in wildlife research, conservation, and education. We’ll talk to the aquarium’s director about its history and future. And we hear from you: what’s your favorite aquarium memory? Guests: Bart Shepherd, senior director, Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences Rebekah Kim, head librarian, California Academy of Sciences Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Support for KQWED podcasts comes from Landmark College, commemorating 40 years of educating people who learn differently, with programs on campus and online for both students and professionals.
0:12.0	Learn more at landmark.edu.
0:14.7	Support for forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story. From three-time Tony-winning composer
0:24.0	Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank, a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to
0:30.8	make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an
0:37.1	unimaginable test of faith,
0:39.3	humanity, justice, and devotion. The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orphium
0:46.1	Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th. Tickets on sale now at BroadwaysF.com.
0:55.5	From KQED.
0:57.0	From KQED.
1:11.6	The Steinhardard Aquarium has taken different forms over its hundred years.
1:16.6	It once hosted dolphins and even a great white shark.
1:20.6	A TV show, Science and Action, was filmed there for years.
1:23.6	But the role of an aquarium is a bit different now.
1:26.6	Our oceans are in crisis, and institutions like the Steinhart are an important player in
1:32.1	conservation research.
1:33.8	So today, we celebrate 100 years of the aquarium, taking your memories in, and we'll also
1:39.3	look forward to the next chapters in the storied San Francisco spot, now built into the wondrous California
1:45.5	Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. That's all coming up next, after this news.
1:59.8	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. When I sat down to write about the Steinhard
2:05.1	Aquarium, I pulled out my phone, started going through the photographs and videos of my children
2:10.6	wandering around the place. In one, February 15th, 2016, my then three-year-old stares up.
	...

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