My advice would be to call the Academy of Sciences directly for an answer to your question. The various dining options are normally available when the Academy is open, but during the holidays hours may vary, as they do in other venues.

Sorry I am to late to help Mike

I would recommend calling the Academy's General Inquiries line. If you scroll to the bottom of their main website and click contact the telephone # and email address is in the bottom part of the Contact page.

Coat check yes, you maybe able to check the car seat there too. You can also reach out there customer service prior your visit, they are very helpful via email.

Well I'm 41 and I really enjoyed it, it's a very interesting museum so if you get a chance I'd recommend you check it out.

I don’t know.

We were there on a very busy day in August. I agree with Mark37Chicago that this place handles the crowds well. As he said, get there early and get your planetarium tickets as soon as you can. There will be line-ups (especially for the planetarium). so plan to have something for kids to do during that time. One part that doesn't work well with crowds is the cafeteria. We found lineups super slow and hard to find a place to sit. Please the food was very pricey (although pretty good). Bring your own lunch to save lots of money, time and frustration!

Dear Rajiv, you are right that both California Academy of Science in SFO and the Field Museum in Chicago are unique. But they are unique in their own way. I would recommend visiting both of them, as you might discover lots of interesting things (especially if you traveling with kids and family). Finally, California Academy of Science has fabulous scientific organizational structure and for sure deserve a journey. Hope it helps. Have a nice trip!