Tiny Chef, famous in a Nickelodeon animation series, has come to Cal Academy to celebrate cooking, creativity and caring for the planet.

California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco is a natural history museum like no other – four story rain forest with tropical butterflies down to Amazon depths, superb aquarium, planetarium, natural history exhibits, and a living roof.

“Cheffy” is beloved by everybody worldwide – here at Cal Academy he shows how tiny actions can make a big impact.

At Cal Academy, start your visit with Tiny Chef exhibit (take photos in a human-size kitchen), watch big screen presentation in Morrison Planetarium, munch on Tiny Chef inspired dishes in the Cafe, and go on a hunt to find Tiny Chef hidden all around the museum.

Note: If you haven’t viewed animated episodes of Tiny Chef, “follow your nose to The Tiny Chef Show.” Episodes are available on YouTube – e.g. Birthday donut cake and babysitting ladybugs. Netflix has first season episodes, on Amazon all three seasons (to buy).

 

Tiny Chef Exhibit

In the Tiny Chef Exhibit is a recreation of Tiny Chef’s miniature kitchen, made for bigger people.

Step behind the counter next to Cheffy, pick up the spoons and start stirring the pots. Perfect for all your family photos.

In the exhibit is Tiny Chef’s stump tree house, where he lives with his friends – Olly the robot, Ruby the caterpillar, and Henry the snail.

Check out Tiny Chef’s costumes and tiny accessories in the displays – walnut shell bowls, a ladder made out of crayons, bottle cap cooking pots, candy tin wheelbarrow, tiny transit cards for BART and Muni, reusable water bottle and coffee cup, bin for compost. Many of these items are made with recycled materials – here’s ideas for crafting activities.

On the wall are continuously playing videos of Tiny Chef’s activities – planting and tending gardens, making frozen desserts, visiting exhibits in Cal Academy, playing with animal friends, on a road trip in his colorful food truck and more.

Take time to write your own colorful note on the bulletin board – how small things you do help the earth. Here’s just a few of the many, many notes.

I pick up trash that people dump.

Transport my kids on a bike.

I bring reusable grocery bags when I got shopping.

Be kind to nature.

Science is REAL.

Drive EV cars.

Compost things that can be composted instead of throwing them away.

I love your show Tiny Chef! From Vinaah

 

Tiny Chef, Big Impact: The Show

In Morrison Planetarium is a 20 minute movie with Tiny Chef – things we can do to help conservation and regeneration of the natural world, and how if we work together collectively, we will help heal the earth. Planetarium show is for kids age 4 and up.

Reservation: Planetarium show is free, but you’ll need a reservation.

There’s a limited number of reservations per day, so make your reservation as soon as possible, when you first arrive at Cal Academy. If no time slots are available, check back, during the day some reservations may come available.

In the lobby, behind the T-rex, is a map of the museum. To the left of the map is a board with QR code to make the planetarium reservation.

 

Museum Cafe – Eat with Tiny Chef

In the Academy Cafe are dishes inspired by Tiny Chef. “Food brings friends together.”

The day we visited, these plant-based dishes were on the menu.

Greenhouse burger – Beyond Burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle.
Jack smashburger – Beyond burger, pulled jackfruit, BBQ sauce, vegan cheese.
Buffalo cauliflower – Tempura cauliflower in buffalo sauce
Plantadilla – Gooey melted daiya cheese in flour tortilla
Jackfruit carnitas

Here’s a photo of the Greenhouse burger with a side order of fries – it was delicious!

 

Scavenger hunt – Find Tiny Chef

Go on a hunt to find Tiny Chef in 9 different locations throughout the museum.

Look for Tiny Chef on a hike pursued by a bobcat, scouting out zebras in African grasslands or climbing up a crystal mountain, wearing his colorful apron.

As always, Tiny Chef is busy doing things – cleaning a giraffe’s hoof or huge teeth on a T-rex skeleton, fixing loose Lego blocks, wearing a scuba suit ready to dive into California tide pools, or exploring deep down in the Twilight Zone.

Where will Tiny Chef find his favorite ingredient for cinnamon-vanilla coffee?

For clues to all nine locations – Hidden Chef

Tiny Chef is at Cal Academy until May 3, 2026.

 

On Travel for Kids, more about Golden Gate Park, and fun things to do with kids in San Francisco.

Note: All the images in the video and blog post, except photo of the Morrison Planetarium, are our copyrighted photos. If you like Tiny Chef, have fun visiting Cal Academy for yourself!