A Museum’s Lively Laboratory for the Would-Be Astronaut

Astronaut training can be long and arduous, but at the California Museum of Science and Industry’s “Young Astronauts Program,” children in grades 3 through 9 can learn about astronomy, engineering and biology in an exciting and lively environment.

Utilizing hands-on projects such as growing plants in a vacuum and making and launching their own model rockets, youngsters will learn about various scientific fields in this special program.

Meetings will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Dec. 4 and 18 at the museum’s Aerospace Hall. Reservations are required. Call (213) 744-7438.

MARINE SCIENCE

Channel Islands National Park ranger Linda Kelly will explore some of the current problems facing the world’s oceans in a talk at the park’s Visitor Center Sunday at 2 p.m. Call (805) 644-8262.

GEOLOGY

“Continental Drift, Greenland Exploration and Husky Dogs” are some of the areas that will be discussed by Peter Wyllie, professor of geology, in the next Watson Lecture at Caltech at 8 p.m. Nov. 30. Call (818) 356-4652.

ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCES

Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, and some neighboring galaxies will be explored in a planetarium show at Los Angeles Valley College at 8 and 9:15 p.m. Dec 2. Call (818) 781-1200, Ext. 335.

John Armstrong, senior research associate in geochemistry, will discuss meteorites and early solar system history in the next Lecture for Secondary Students at 3:45 p.m. Dec. 7 in Baxter Hall on the Caltech campus. Call (818) 356-6207.

The possible scientific explanations of the Christmas Star and origins of some of the customs of the season will be examined in the El Camino College Planetarium shows Dec. 2, 9 and 16 at 8 p.m. Call (213) 715-3200.

PALEONTOLOGY

A Tyrannosaurus rex, almost 12 feet tall, and a half-scale mother and baby Triceratops will be a few of the mechanical creations that bring dinosaurs to life in a special exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County through Jan. 15. Call (213) 744-3466.

ORNITHOLOGY

Participants can view the fall bird migrations with naturalist Linda Lewis of the American Cetacean Society in a trip to Bolsa Chica State Park on Nov. 26 at 9 a.m. Call (213) 548-8500.