SCIENCE FILE / An explosion of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment

Children can participate in safe and educational Halloween fare this week:

Youths, ages 5 to 13, can “bone up” on the human skeleton, visit the science haunted house or explore the life of nocturnal animals at hands-on science workshops offered at the California Museum of Science and Industry on Saturday and Sunday. (213) 744-7444.

The Los Angeles Zoo’s “Boo at the Zoo” offers children’s activities Saturday and Sunday, including meeting animal keepers at “Creeper Keeper Close-Ups” and trick-or-treating. Visitors in costume will receive discounted admission. (213) 666-4090.

Lectures

* Caltech professor Daniel Kevles will conduct a two-part lecture series on “Genetics and Social Policies” at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks on Nov. 6 at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. in Samuelson Chapel. (805) 495-4470.

* Gregg Herken of the Smithsonian Institution will discuss “The Human Radiation Experiments: Science, the State and Medical Ethics in Historical Perspectives,” Nov. 2, 4 p.m., in Caltech’s Judy Library. (818) 395-4652.

* “The Devil, Demonology and the Meaning of Halloween” will be the subject of the Skeptics Society lecture Sunday at 2 p.m. in Caltech’s Baxter Lecture Hall. (818) 794-3119.

Archeology

* A lecture series titled “The Birth and Development of Civilization in the Ancient Near East” will be held Mondays or Tuesdays at 8:15 p.m. at the University of Judaism’s Gindi Auditorium through Dec. 11. “Mesopotamian Myths, Epics and Laments: The First Recorded Literature” will be held Monday. On Nov. 6, James Allen of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will discuss Egyptian pyramids. (818) 762-5500.

Earth Science

* “William Stout’s Visions of Gondwana--Past and Present Life in Antarctica” will be on exhibit through Nov. 26 at the Natural History Museum. (213) 744-DINO.

Family Events

* Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro will have many fall events for families. On Saturday, children in grades 3 to 5 can learn about deep-sea creatures in a morning class. A three-hour workshop for all ages on the intertidal environment will be held Nov. 6. (310) 548-7562.

* The Festival of the Arthropods will be held at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on Nov. 11 and 12. Bugs of all shapes and sizes will be on display, and gourmet bug cuisine can be sampled. (805) 682-4711.

* Classes in nature and the sciences for all ages are being offered at the Wilderness Institute in Calabasas this fall. A special event Nov. 18, “Wheel to the Sea,” will introduce individuals in wheelchairs to a wilderness area. (818) 991-7327.

* The Friends of Madrona Marsh are sponsoring a fall science camp for third-graders and older Nov. 1 and 8, 3:30 to 5 p.m. The group will also have nature walks Saturday at 9 a.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. and a special night nature walk Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. (310) 782-3989.