Chemical Education Today
ACS National Meeting
Discovering Anaheim by Paul S. Cohen and Brenda H. Cohen
Anaheim is an energetic and busy suburb of Los Angeles. It began when German immigrants settled along the banks of the Santa Ana River, where they planted cuttings of grape vines that were brought from Rhineland vineyards. These plants thrived, and so Anaheim became a center of California’s wine industry. But by the 1880s, a blight had killed the vines and the winemaking industry as well. The farmers then tried orange groves, and a new industry prospered. When Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom of Disneyland opened in 1955, recreation and tourism became the major industries in Anaheim. How lucky for the ACS that the Convention Center is situated directly across the road from The Magic Kingdom! Besides this fantasyland, there are many other attractions in this part of southern California, some which are of interest to scientists. Two new facilities have opened recently near Anaheim. The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific opened in the summer of 1998. Located on a five-acre site, the aquarium contains 17 major habitats and 30 smaller exhibits featuring fish life of the Pacific waters. The largest tank, 350,000 gallons, is a re-creation of the Palau archipelago of Micronesia, complete with colorful sea life, coral lagoons, and a tropical reef. A second is the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, quite close to the meeting site. The staff describes it as a place where you can experience “Science— Southern California Style”. With nearly 60,000 square feet of exhibit space, you can learn about human perception, great scientists, space exploration, the dynamic Earth, and more. There are over 100 hands-on exhibits, a 3-D laser theater, and live demonstrations for people of all ages. To understand the history of Anaheim, its early economic activities related to the wine and citrus industries, and the history of Disneyland, a visit to the Anaheim Museum is in order. For those interested in the historical development of publishing, the International Printing Museum illustrates the evolution of the printed word using artifacts such as handcarved wooden type and a linotype typesetter. To see early California architecture, check out the recent exhibit at the Sherman Library & Gardens. The botanical collection includes specimens ranging from rare cacti to tropical plants. Orange County, in which Anaheim is located, has several nature preserves, providing the public with a chance to study the local ecology and to watch many bird species. At the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, visitors can see the brown pelican, the California least tern, and the endangered Belding Savannah sparrow. Crystal Cove State Park, located along the coastline, has guided nature walks and talks. Here, visitors may see many varieties of birds along the shore and gray whales off the coast. The Santa Ana Zoo houses 250 animals and is situated on 20 acres, containing land that was once used for orange groves. The original 12 acres were donated by Joseph Prentice, who proposed establishing a park for monkeys. Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary is a 12-acre wilderness and refuge for native plants and wildlife. A visit to Upper
Ne wport Bay Ecology Reserve reveals a natural area with wild birds and animals. Not far south of Anaheim are the five domes of Mount Palomar Observatory. This site, nearly a mile high, is reached by a four-and-a-halfmile drive up a winding road with a seven percent grade. Visitors can see the 200-inch Hale Telescope and a small museum with a model of the telescope lens. In Arcadia, at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains north and west of Anaheim, is The Los Angeles State and County Arboretum. This facility has an ecosystem in which a wide range of plants flourishes. Rare and exotic trees and shrubs from around the world are set in an informal landscape, based on geographic regions. The arboretum is organized into specialized gardens with a variety of displays. The Historic Section describes life among the Gabrielino Indians and life during the Rancho Santa Ana period. Many movie and television productions have used the arboretum as their set over the years. Visitors may recognize the Queen Anne Cottage from the television series Fantasy Island. It was built by Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin at the end of the 19th century. Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge purchased approximately 50,000 camellia plants from Japanese-American nurserymen at the time they were moved into relocation camps during World War II. These plants augmented their already extensive camellia collection in a live oak forest. Today, the garden has over 600 varieties of camellias from various parts of the globe, making this one of the largest collections in the world. A five-acre Rose Garden chronicles the history of the rose. Other gardens include the Iris Garden, with many prize-winning plants, and a California Native Plant Garden, displaying dry-climate plants in a natural chaparral setting. In 1904, astronomer George Ellery Hale built the Mount Wilson Observatory and installed a 60-inch reflecting telescope. From 1917 to 1948, it was the world’s largest telescope and many “firsts” happened here. This was the first observatory to compare the sun with other stars and the first to discover the magnetic nature of sunspots. In the 1920s, Albert Michaelson measured the speed of light by reflecting a beam of light from this mountain top to Mount San Antonio. The Visitor Center contains a small museum with many historic artifacts. A tour of the site includes places where many great discoveries were made, stops at several important telescopes, and includes the spot—marked with a plaque—where the Michaelson experiment took place. The Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Garden in San Marino has extraordinary collections in all three departments. The Library emphasizes British and American history, literature, and art from the 11th century to the present. Included in the collections are European sci-
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 76 No. 3 March 1999 • Journal of Chemical Education
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Chemical Education Today
ACS National Meeting ence and technology works, dating from the 15th through the 19th centuries. The medieval material is heavily medicinal. The 150-acre Botanical Garden contains 15 specialized gardens that are organized around several themes. Of special note is the Desert Garden, a 12-acre collection with 2,500 species arranged in geographic groups. This section contains the world’s largest outdoor mature cacti and succulent collection. The Art Collection presents British, American, and European pieces of importance. Griffith Park is at the east end of the Santa Monica Mountains, on the slopes of Mount Hollywood. The park includes The Griffith Obser vatory and Planetarium, a facility that provides regular shows and uses its twin refracting telescopes on clear evenings for public viewing. Exhibits in the Hall of Science explore the relationship between humans and the universe. The Los Angeles Zoo is home to over 2,000 animals from five continents, living in natural habitat settings. Griffith Park also has Travel Town, a transportation museum where visitors may see steam locomotives and other railroad equipment in an outdoor setting. Indoor exhibits include wagons, period automobiles, and fire fighting equipment. Downtown Los Angeles, only 28 miles from Anaheim, has both The California Science Center and The Natural His-
tory Museum of Los Angeles County in Exposition Park. The Science Center is a family-directed complex with exhibits that merge science and social issues, such as environmental concerns. In the Aerospace Hall, the Earth is examined from space; the evolution of flight is studied; and the principles of flight are explained. Other halls include the Hall of Health, the Technology Hall, and the Hall of Economics and Finance. The Natural History Museum has the third largest natural history collection in the United States. Highlights include the four habitat halls displaying African, North American, and exotic mammals in naturalistic dioramas; Marine Biology Hall with one of the largest collections of mammals in the world; Gem and Mineral Hall with a stylized gold mine; and Hall of Birds with 27 learning areas and walk-through habitats. The anthropology and history collections include such pieces as a Paul Revere bell, one of the oldest banjos, vehicles, textiles, and scientific instruments. The world-famous George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries is a satellite facility of the Natural History Museum. This museum and the adjacent tar pits are located on the west side of Los Angeles. Over 100 years of excavations have revealed a remarkable number of specimens, many of which are on display in the museum. The pit, open to public inspection, is a working excavation site during the summer months.
Anaheim and Adjacent Towns:
Mount Palomar Observatory: County Road 56, Palomar Mountain; 760/742-3476. Mount Wilson Institute: 740 Holladay Road, Pasadena; 818/ 793-3100.
Anaheim Museum: 241 South Anaheim Boulevard, Anaheim; 714/778-3301.
Where To Find It in Anaheim
Bolsa Chica Ecology Reserve: Warner Avenue and Golden West Street, Huntington Beach; 714/897-7003. Crystal Cove State Park: Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach, Anaheim; 714/494-3539. Descanso Gardens: 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge; 818/952-4400. Discovery Science Center: 2500 North Main Street, Santa Ana; 714/542-2823. The Huntington: 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino; 626/4052141. The International Printing Museum: 8496 Kass Drive, Buena Park; 714/523-2070. Lick Observatory: Mount Hamilton Observing Station, Mount Hamilton Road, Mount Hamilton; 408/274-5061. Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific: 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach; 562/590-3100. Los Angeles State & County Arboretum: 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia; 626/821-3222. 312
When Paul and Brenda Cohen aren’t traveling, they can be found at The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ 08628; email:
[email protected].
Santa Ana Zoo: 1801 East Chestnut Avenue, Santa Ana; 714/ 835-7484. Sherman Library & Gardens: 2647 East Coast Highway, Corona Del Mar; 714/673-1880. Los Angeles: California Science Center: 700 State Drive, Los Angeles; 213/744-7400. George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries: 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles; 213/744-3314. Griffith Observatory and Planetarium: 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles; 213/664-1181. Hall of Science: Griffith Park, 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles; 213/663-8171. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles; 213/744-3314. Travel Town: Griffith Park, 5200 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles; 213/662-5874.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 76 No. 3 March 1999 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
