Dinosaur Exhibit Is a Trip in Time

If the movie “Jurassic Park” whets your appetite for dinosaurs, then the exhibit of beastly, roaring dinosaurs at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will more than satisfy you.

“Dinosaurs 1993: The Greatest Show Unearthed” takes visitors on a 100-million-year trip back in time to see and hear these prehistoric creatures as exhibited by the robotic dinosaurs created by the Dinamation Corp.

The animated creatures roar with jaws open wide, walk, move their heads and tails and generally act in a beastly manner. There is a 28-foot Apatosaurus and her baby, a 10-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus rex and other examples of the giant reptiles in the museum’s Fleischmann Auditorium.

Visitors can also handle fossils on display throughout the hall and see where dinosaurs lived on a relief map showing their territories.

The museum planetarium will also have dinosaur-related programs until the exhibit closes Sept. 6. Call (805) 682-4711.

SCIENCE FOR KIDS

* Children ages 8 through 12 can learn about the habits and survival skills of live amphibians and reptiles (such as Elvis the King Snake and Yoda the Toad) in a workshop offered by the Wilderness Institute on Saturday at 10 a.m. Call (818) 991-7327.

* “Tots on Trails,” a nature walk for children ages 2 to 4 accompanied by an adult, will introduce children to the natural world of Franklin Canyon on Thursday at 10 a.m. It is offered by the William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom, and reservations are required. Call (310) 858-3834.

* Kidspace Museum in Pasadena will teach children ages 5 and older about “The Science of Sound,” in workshops featuring hands-on experiments on Friday at 2 and 3 p.m. Call (818) 449-9144.

PHYSICS

* The enigmatic properties of time will be explored in an eight-session summer course, “Time and Its Mysteries,” offered by UCLA Extension beginning Wednesday. Call (310) 825-7093.

MARINE SCIENCE

* Two final “Meet the Grunion” programs of the 1993 season will be held at the Cabrillo Marine Museum in San Pedro on Monday and July 20, when tides will be highest. On both dates, the museum will open at 8 p.m. and programs will begin with a film at 9 p.m., followed by a trip to the beach about 10:30 p.m. Call (310) 548-7562.

SCIENCE FOR EDUCATORS

* The UCLA Education Extension program will be offering several classes this summer for kindergarten to high school teachers to assist them in developing science and ecology lessons and activities. Classes include “Introduction to Environmental Studies for K-6 Educators,” beginning July 10, and a one-week residential program in Bishop at the White Mountain Research Station on “Earth Sciences for Secondary School Teachers,” July 21-28. Call (310) 825-4191.