Learning How Water Shapes Our Lives

The Vista del Lago Visitor Center at Pyramid Lake shows how water has helped to shape lives in California.

The center, the newest visitor facility along the State Water Project, includes exhibits on water supply, geography, conservation, watershed management and the history of water in the state.

Interactive computer exhibits demonstrate how much water it takes to grow various types of food and how much is used in the home or by industry and agriculture.

The Current Water Issues exhibit discusses the changing state water picture. Water quality and water treatment are explored in the Metropolitan Water District’s exhibit. The U.S. Forest Service exhibit re-creates a northern forest in a life-sized diorama, complete with a stream, to demonstrate watershed management.

The center is open to the public every day. Guided tours are available by reservation. Call (805) 294-0219.

ASTRONOMY

* Globular clusters, ring nebulae and the constellations where these celestial objects can be located will be discussed in “Stars of the Summer Sky,” the multimedia planetarium program at the Los Angeles Valley College Planetarium on Friday at 8 p.m. Call (818) 781-1200, Ext. 335.

SCIENCE FOR KIDS

* Children can gain a better understanding of basic scientific principles in a visit to “The Science Station,” a variety of interactive mini-exhibits which demonstrate electricity, mechanics and other processes at the Children’s Museum in La Habra. Call (310) 905-9793.

* If you think it’s hot here, take a close look at the sun with the Griffith Observatory’s traveling telescope at the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena. Workshops for children ages 5 and older are offered Friday at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Call (818) 449-9144.

ENVIRONMENT

* View the marsh and summer resident birds and learn about the environment of Madrona Marsh in Torrance in a naturalist-led outing offered by the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Natural Science Section on Saturday at 7 a.m. Call (310) 677-6233.

* Island Packers, a park service concessionaire operating out of Ventura Harbor, will be offering an overnight trip to San Miguel and Santa Rosa islands, two of the Channel Islands, on Aug. 28 and 29. Naturalists on board will help identify marine mammals in the area such as whales or dolphins. Park rangers will lead guided hikes to explore the islands, including visits to seal and sea lion rookeries. For reservations call (805) 642-1393.