At the California Academy of Sciences, Mrs. Obama spoke to party donors. The tickets for the event were $500 and it is the first stop on her two-night stay in San Francisco.
Security is extra tight at the California Academy of Sciences. Ticket holders were asked to line-up in a secured area before gaining entrance to the building and television cameras were not allowed inside.
The first lady is here to raise money for her husband's 2012 reelection campaign. Mrs. Obama has said that she dislikes politics, but over the course of her three years as first lady, she has emerged as an extremely popular figure and a political presence all her own.
"She's a popular figure and you can use her in fundraising events around the country and raise money. And I think increasingly you can do some free media events with her and get some publicity that humanizes the Obamas and puts them back in the light that they had back in 2008," said ABC7 Political Analyst Bruce Cain.
There were one or two protesters outside, but an officer ABC7 spoke with earlier said that there have been no issues. Mrs. Obama has been on a western swing. She worked in a bit of vacation with her daughters, checking out Mount Rushmore and Las Vegas.
Saturday morning the first lady will be in Alameda to commission a new U.S. Coast Guard cutter.
