BEST BET

Curators tell visitors that the Cabrillo Marine Museum got its start when a local lifeguard found a dead pelican washed up on the shore and plunked it across a table to examine. Soon he and others were collecting and displaying marine creatures and aquatic curiosities in a nearby bathhouse. Ten years ago, with financial help from the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, the museum moved into a new complex at Cabrillo Beach. The San Pedro museum today boasts 35 aquariums that are home to sea cucumbers, mantis shrimp, stony cup coral and hundreds of other animals that normally live in the surrounding ocean waters.

This summer, the museum is offering a series of one-week workshops for children, called “Science at the Seashore.” During this week’s workshop, kids in grades one to four will be collecting specimens at the seashore and examining them under a microscope. “Kids freak out when they can actually see the animals feeding,” instructor Steve Vogel said. The cost is $70 for the five-day, 9 a.m. to noon program.

Other special programs for adults and families are scheduled year-round. The museum’s exhibits and aquariums are open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Although admission to the museum at 3720 Stephen White Drive is free, parking at the lot at Cabrillo Beach costs $5. One of the favorite attractions at the museum is an outdoor tank where visitors can touch sea urchins, bat stars and sea anemones. For more information call 548-7562.