Science / Medicine : Event to Spotlight Beaches, Wetlands
A nationwide effort to improve the quality of the country’s beaches and coastal wetlands will be observed at various Southern California locations on Saturday.
Participants in Coastweeks, a program organized by marine-related scientific and environmental organizations, can learn about the wildlife and pollution problems of the local coastal environment, such as Santa Monica Bay, while helping to clean up the beaches.
Events at the Cabrillo Marine Museum in San Pedro will include a museum staff-led tour of the Salinas de San Pedro man-made salt marsh. Recognition of National Estuaries Day begins at 10:30 a.m. with a program at the museum highlighting the value of local wetlands for sea bird and fish populations.
The Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project will be sponsoring coastal cleanup activities from Venice to Zuma Beach. Last year more than 2,000 volunteers assisted in the effort and collected 12,000 pounds of debris.
For Cabrillo Marine Museum events, call (213) 548-7563. For Santa Monica Bay events, call (213) 546-8856.
PHYSICS
Physicist Stephen Hawking will lecture at the Santa Monica College Pavilion on Sept. 24 at 4 p.m. Hawking, author of the book “A Brief History of Time,” will discuss “Black Holes and Baby Universes.” Call (213) 450-4811.
SCIENCE FOR KIDS
The autumnal equinox, also known as the first day of fall, and nature’s response to the changing seasons will be the subject of a workshop offered for children and their families by the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Preregistration is required. Call (213) 421-9431, Ext. 3415.
Children can learn about armadillos, ocelots, coatimundis and other animals of the Central and South American rain forests in a Whales Tales discovery program at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County on Sept. 28 at 1:30 p.m. Call (213) 744-3534.
HEALTH/MEDICINE
The John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. John’s Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica will sponsor a community education program on advances in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The hospital will also offer free prostate exams on Sept. 23, 24 and 25. Registration and appointments are required. Call (213) 315-6107.
One out of every 11 men and one in nine black men will get prostate cancer, according to American Cancer Society statistics. Exams are recommended for all men over age 40. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will also be offering free exams on Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call (213) 855-6347.
A UCLA undergraduate interdisciplinary course on AIDS will be offered to the public through UCLA Extension on Tuesday evenings beginning Sept. 24. “AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases” will focus on the personal and societal response to AIDS and other illnesses. Call (213) 825-7093.
The special needs and problems of family members and close friends of breast cancer patients will be discussed in “Partners in Crisis” at the Breast Cancer Recovery Plus meeting on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Center for Women’s Health in Culver City. Call (213) 478-9463 or (213) 452-0200.
ENVIRONMENT
The nocturnal environment of the Santa Monica Mountains can be experienced in a moonlit hike led by environmentalist Peter Rice on Saturday at 7 p.m. “Mountains Under the Moon” is offered through the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Call (213) 744-3534.
