The new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park opened its doors on Saturday to hundreds of visitors anxious to discover the world’s deeper secrets. Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano on the site of the academy’s demolished home, the building is a reminder of civilizing function of great art in a barbaric age stretching back through Modernism to Classical Greece.

The museum offered free admission Saturday in honor of its reopening after five years of construction and $488 million expenditures. Therefore, people waited in line as early as 5:30 am to enter the museum which houses the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium (a 300-seat theater showing state-of-the-art digital projections) and a national history museum.

The building painted in green is meant to encourage people to take care of the Earth, Academy president John Hafenik said while wearing a green sweater himself during the opening festivity.

“We hope it’s going to be a way of dealing us to an even greener way of lifestyle and to deal with some of the major issues in the planet now, [including] global warming. There’s an exhibit within the building that talks about global warming, it explains the issues and it also explains how people can be part of the solution as well,” Hafenik said.

The museum is designed to entertain but at the same time to educate the public about the natural world. It hopes to help protect endangered species and still function as a scholarly research organization.

Beginning Sunday, September 28 admission will cost $24.95 for adults; $19.95 for youth ages 12 to 17, seniors ages 65 and over and students with valid ID; $14.95 for children ages 7 to 11; and free for children ages 6 and younger.

More information on the museum can be found at http://www.calacademy.org.