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LOS
ANGELES
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 Begin
your excursion into L.A.'s world of science in Exposition Park
at the new California Science Center (http://www.casciencectr.org/)
(700 State Dr., 213-744-7400). The museum uses high-tech, interactive
exhibits to explore life processes and human innovation. The seven-story-
high IMAX 3D Theater will take your movie-watching to unprecedented
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Day 1:
Slip into
another world in the adjacent Exposition Park Rose Garden (701
State Dr., 213-748-4772). One of the largest rose gardens in
California, the garden features more than 19,000 bushes.
 Fast-forward
into the past at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
(http://www.nhm.org/)
(900 Exposition Blvd., 213-763-3466). It's a mega-museum stuffed
with treasures from pre-Columbian artifacts to dinosaur bones.
Drive to
the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits (http://www.tarpits.org)
(5801 Wilshire Blvd., 323-934-PAGE), where you will find one
of the world's richest Ice Age fossil sites. The museum illustrates
life in L.A. during the Ice Age. Digs continue to the present
day.
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 Located
on the grounds of the Santa Monica municipal airport, the Museum
of Flying (2772 Donald Douglas Loop North, Santa Monica; 310-392-8822)
displays its extensive collection of aircraft and aviation memorabilia.
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 Trace
the path of James Dean in the movie Rebel Without a Cause and
head up to the Griffith Observatory (http://www.griffithobs.org/)
(2800 East Observatory Rd., 323-664-1191). You'll get a breathtaking
view of Los Angeles, as well as an educational look at the moon
and stars through interactive exhibits. Also located within Griffith
Park, head over to the 75-acre L.A. Zoo (http://www.lazoo.org/)
(5333 Zoo Dr., 323-644-6400), where you can enjoy observing some
of the most unique inhabitants of Los Angeles. |
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Day Two:
Explore
the Southwest Museum (http://www.southwestmuseum.org/)
(234 Museum Dr., 323-221-2164), which offers exhibits and a
research library that focus on the anthropology, archaeology
and natural history of indigenous cultures.
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 The
Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens (http://www.huntington.org/index.html)
(1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino; 626-405-2100) has 150 acres of beautifully
maintained gardens and nearly 15,000 species of plants from all
over the world. The most impressive is the Desert Garden, one
of the largest research and display collections of cacti and other
succulents. |
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Descanso
Gardens (http://www.descanso.com)
(1418 Descanso Dr., La Canada; 818/952-4401) is a 165-acre retreat
built in the 1930s. With a collection of more than 100,000 camellias,
it also houses the Inter-national Rosarium, a five-acre educational
garden that depicts the history of the rose.
At the Arboretum
of Los Angeles County (http://www.arboretum.org/)
(301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; 626-821-3222), peacocks stroll
among visitors to the 127-acre horticultural and botanical center.
The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific (http://www.aquariumofpacific.org)
(200 S. Shoreline Dr., 562-590-3100) is the United States' only
aquarium devoted solely to the study of the Pacific Ocean. Its
550 species fill 17 major living exhibit tanks and 30 smaller
tanks, and will take visitors on a journey throughout the Pacific's
three regions: Southern California/Baja; the Tropical Pacific
and the Northern Pacific.
The Cabrillo
Marine Aquarium (http://www.cabrilloaq.org/)
(3720 Stephen White Dr., San Pedro; 310-548-7562) is organized
around three major environments: rocky shores, sandy beaches
and mud flats, and open ocean.
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