From the category archives:

Nature Centers

SB Natural History Museum: Where The Rattlesnake Rattles On

February 21, 2010

The Santa Barbara Natural History Museum is more than a museum to me. It embodies my childhood. I was there when the museum acquired the blue whale that washed up on the shore. In the newspaper and on separate visits, I followed how they prepared the animal for exhibit outside the museum. My sister, cousin [...]

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OC Explorer Guest Post: Orange County Nature and Interpretive Centers

December 7, 2009

Last week, we featured Joe Anzenberger’s guest post on OC Nature Preserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries. Since it’s supposed to be a rainy week, I thought his discussion of OC Nature Centers might be appropriate.
ORANGE COUNTY NATURE CENTERS
Fun Orange County Parks recently wrote up reviews of several nature centers, like Oak Canyon, Turtle Rock, and others, [...]

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OC Explorer Guest Post: Nature Preserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries

November 30, 2009

Joe Anzenberger dedicates himself to sharing stories and advice about exploring the “back country” of Orange County on his OC Explorer website. His site presents all the off-pavement trails in Orange County, spotlighting beautiful locations where entertainment lies in the sounds and sights of a million year old natural environment.

I asked Joe to share some [...]

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Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim Hills

November 20, 2009

Oak Canyon Nature Center offers a great spot for Anaheim Hills kid-friendly hiking within the larger regional trail system. It’s tucked into a natural area beyond the Anaheim Hills Golf Course off Nohl Ranch Road. Our excursion to this secluded spot provided my 4 year old and me with a great morning adventure. I had [...]

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Clark Regional Park in Buena Park

November 8, 2009

Clark Regional Park might just be my favorite OC regional park. It’s in Buena Park squeezed in between La Mirada and Fullerton. The grounds are expansive, but manageable for my 4 year old. There are no less than 3 separate playgrounds and an interpretive center. We walked almost the whole park during our visit. [...]

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Irvine Regional Park and Other OC Nature Centers

November 2, 2009

Nature Centers are favorite outings for many OC kids and especially our family. We stepped into the Irvine Regional Park Nature Center on Saturday and I was reminded how much our family loves these places. We can’t wait to put our hands on the interactive displays and Eagle Scout projects. It’s truly an indoor play [...]

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Turtle Rock Nature Center and Park

October 30, 2009

Visiting Turtle Rock Nature Center and playground turned into a very enjoyable afternoon for my kids and I back in September. I recorded our day on my Simple Nature Adventures post. I just got a comment on that post reminding me I never actually did a review of Turtle Rock Community Park or the nature [...]

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Nix Nature Center at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park

October 13, 2009

Our unplanned visit to Nix Nature Center on the westbound side of Laguna Canyon/SR 133 turned out to be a pleasant surprise and an awesome family outing. The rangers were exceedingly helpful and informative. I wanted to spend all day there. The Laguna Canyon Foundation is a non-profit “dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing the [...]

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Bolsa Chica Wetlands: Historical Armaments and Nesting Grounds

September 2, 2009

I’ve been wanting to explore the Bolsa Chica Wetlands ever since I read this post about it on Alive in Wonderland. It turned out to be quite the adventure. The first day we went, there was a press conference in the interpretive center. There was no staff available to give us any direction on where [...]