Museum Offers Plankton Trip

A plankton trip will be led by Cabrillo Marine Museum exhibits director Mike Schaadt and museum staff on the research vessel Yellowfin on Oct. 3.

Activities on the research excursion to the San Pedro Channel will include a trawl at depths of 600 to 1,000 feet to sample the zooplankton community, surface trawls to sample the top six inches of the water and observations of bioluminescence in plankton.

The excursion will be from 5 to 11 p.m.; space is limited and reservations are required. Call (310) 548-7563.

ASTRONOMY/SPACE SCIENCES

Warren James, senior engineer at McDonnell Douglas, will discuss the difficulties of travel in the solar system in “Exploring the Solar System: How, Where and Why,” on Friday at 8 p.m. in Room 214 of the Art Building at Santa Monica College. Call (310) 452-9396 for tickets. For information call (310) 452-9223.

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence will be the topic of a lecture by Thomas R. McDonough, coordinator of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program at the Planetary Society, sponsored by the Skeptics Society on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Baxter Lecture Hall on the Caltech campus. Call (213) 283-9773 or (818) 794-3119.

Visitors to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History can take part in a telescope viewing of the icy rings of Saturn on Friday at 8 p.m. Several telescopes will be set up at the museum in the evening for viewing of the planets, stars and constellations. Call (805) 682-3224.

ANTHROPOLOGY

Traditional dances of the Chumash Indians will be performed by the Chumash River Bottom Dancers in a “Salute to California Indian Culture” at the Southwest Museum on Saturday at 2 p.m. Reservations are required; call (213) 221-2164.

MARINE SCIENCE

The Cabrillo Marine Museum will begin a new series of Science at the Seashore activities with “Discovery Center,” an exploration of tide pool animals in the museum’s science lab, and “Weekend Tide Pool Walks,” a naturalist-conducted tour of the Point Fermin Marine Life Refuge, on Sunday. The science lab program begins at 11:30 a.m. and the tide pool walk begins at 3:30 p.m. Call (310) 548-7563.

HEALTH/MEDICINE

“Aging and Dementia: A Neurological Perspective,” will be presented by Dr. Victor W. Henderson, associate professor of neurology, gerontology and psychology in a workshop at USC’s Andrus Gerontology Center on Monday at 11 a.m. Call (213) 740-7777.

ENVIRONMENT

The Palm Springs Desert Museum opens its 1992-93 season today with an exhibit of photography by naturalist Jon Stewart, whose subjects include cactus, wildflowers and wildlife of the Southwest desert regions. The exhibit runs through Jan. 3, 1993. Call (619) 325-7186.