Little Oceanographers Get Their Feet Wet

For youngsters in vacation doldrums, the Cabrillo Marine Museum at San Pedro is offering a number of classes on the wonders of the sea. These are divided into five-day sessions. There are also one-day workshops designed for every age group, including several that are family oriented such as the three-hour program for learning the fundamentals of aquarium keeping.

Here you will be shown what equipment to select, filtration methods, water chemistry, feeding and how to combat fish diseases. The class will be held next Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fee is $15 per person.

Another one-day workshop to be held today, 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. is called “Treasures in a Tidepool.” If your child is willing to get out of bed before dawn, this is a chance to go to the museum’s nearby tidepool at minus tide to observe the invertebrates that hopefully will be gathering there in sizeable numbers. Afterward, the study group will gather in the museum’s laboratory for close-up observation of these spineless creatures. The fee is $8 per person.

Life Styles of Animals

On Aug. 8 from 1 to 4 p.m., there will be a class called “Rambles Between the Waves,” during which participants will observe the life styles of animals that inhabit shifting sandy beaches. The cost is $8 per person.

There are several five-day sessions featuring programs that are naturally more comprehensive than the single-session classes. One is a high school marine science class for grades 9-12 from 1 to 4 p.m. Aug. 24-28. This is an overview of oceanography with a high school approach. The student learns basic research methods, marine animal feeding and protective behaviors. Each conducts a mini-research project from a casual, local, summertime science perspective. The tuition is $45 per student.

Children in grades 5-6 are afforded an introduction to the science of ichthyology when they join a class that will explore the inner and outer workings of sharks and other fish through lab studies and netting fish along the beach. This is scheduled July 27-31; the fee is $45 per student.

“Wet Knees, a Microscope and the Fortunate Observer” is a program that has been developed for grades 7-9. The class will collect specimens from shore, tow for plankton, and study their finds under microscopes. The class will be held July 20-24, 1-4 p.m. The fee is $45 per student.

To register for any of these classes, send a self-addressed stamped envelope for an application to Seashore Science, Cabrillo Marine Museum, 3720 Stephen White Drive, San Pedro, Calif. 90731.

Steve Vogel will conduct several of the workshops at the museum. There are more than 20,000 known species of bony fish found in both sea and fresh water, and for all these varieties survival is predicated on two factors--finding food and avoiding becoming a larger predator’s next meal. One of Vogel’s constant topics will be to explain the physical and behavioral adaptations various marine animals use to accomplish that.

The Cabrillo Marine Museum is operated by the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks. A museum/aquarium devoted to promoting awareness Southern California’s rich marine life, it has the largest collection of such marine life on display in the world.

Museum hours are Tuesday to Friday from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to p.m. Closed Monday. Admission is free. All-day parking is $4. To reach the museum, follow the Harbor Freeway south to the Gaffey Street exit in San Pedro. Take Gaffey south to 22nd Street. Left here to Pacific Avenue; right on Pacific to 36th Street, and left on 36th to the parking lot entrance.