’Tis the Season for Science: Live animal visits add yuletide flair to holidays at Cal Academy

TWO YOUNG REINDEER lounging in their pen the Saturday before Thanksgiving — the day of their big holiday season premiere at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco — were taking a break after eating lunch.

They were lying around, but children outside the pen were fascinated, pointing, calling out to the deer and doubtlessly wondering why they weren’t training. After all, the reindeer’s biggest day of the year was only about a month away.