Since 1853, the California Academy of Sciences has been dedicated to exploring, explaining, and protecting the natural world. Prompted by damage sustained in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, the Academy selected Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano to redesign the facility. Construction began in 2005 on the largest cultural renovation project in San Francisco’s history, uniting the planetarium, aquarium, and natural history museum under one “living roof.” To herald the reopening on September 27, 2008 in Golden Gate Park, the Academy planned an opening gala – The Big Bang – to benefit education programs, and two dinners to honor the leaders and philanthropists whose vision and generosity had made the new building a reality. Elixir’s designs for the three events reinforced the new Academy brand and invited recipients to come closer, asking “How did we get here? How can we stay?”

Invitations were printed with soy inks on 100% recyclable materials, including Nori seaweed, 100% recycled chipboard, reused pages from Scientific American magazines, and aluminum foil. Aerial image by Travis Pynn. Photographs of the invitations to come. For more information about the opening of the new Academy, go to http://calacademy.org/visit/.