Meeting News - September 22, 2008 - (Page 31) San Francisco A Museum Complex Is About to Open In Golden Gate Park The California Academy of Sciences is set to open on Sept. 27 in its new $500 million building in Golden Gate Park. The debut will unite the Steinhart Aquarium, Harrison Planetarium, Kimball Natural History Museum, and several scientific research facilities under one roof. Among the features of the mega-museum are the world’s largest all-digital planetarium, a fourstory living rainforest, and the world’s deepest display of living corals. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, the building was created to blend into the landscape of the surrounding park and includes a 2.5-acre living roof. The facility employs a number of energysaving materials and technologies, targeted at helping it become platinum LEED-certified. The group business-friendly venue will host private events of up to 3,000 people in a dozen different settings. Among these, planners can book the Swamp, where attendees can have cocktails near the alligators; the planetarium, which can be used for a product launch; or the African Hall, where a five-course meal can be served next to the dioramas. —HWB All For One, One For All: California Academy of Sciences’ new building in Golden Gate Park houses three museums plus research facilities. Convention Bureau Ups Web Appeal for Groups In the past few months, the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched four new sections on its website (onlyinsanfranciso.com). The “Green Your Meeting” section has resources for increasing attendance while reducing environmental impact, as well as a blog, Eco411, with information about local planetfriendly businesses and activities. Foodies can check out the “Taste” microsite, containing everything from the city’s hottest restaurants to a calendar of food-related events to chef profiles to a weekly insider’s blog. Two other new sections help visitors explore. One offers an interactive map that takes you through the city’s 49 neighborhoods, and another, “Beyond San Francisco,” can help meeting attendees branch out into areas surrounding the city, —HWB such as Lake Tahoe and Monterey. r www.meetingnews.com 25,000 SQUARE FEET OF EVENT SPACE. HOTEL NIKKO IS THE ONLY HOTEL IN SAN FRANCISCO TO WIN BOTH THE 2007 PINNACLE AWARD AND THE 2007 GOLD KEY AWARD. 1.866.447.1183 :: 222 MASON STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 AAA FOUR DIAMOND AWARD :: WWW.HOTELNIKKOSF.COM September 22, 2008 MeetingNews 31 http://www.onlyinsanfranciso.com http://WWW.HOTELNIKKOSF.COM http://WWW.HOTELNIKKOSF.COM http://www.meetingnews.com
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