Scripp’s Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, CA has proven its dedication to ocean research, conservation, and education since 1903. As one of the leaders in global warming research, it is fitting that their very own Birch Aquarium’s newest exhibit features climate change. A walk through this part of the museum is similar to a trip through a more interactive version of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.

Exhibits focus on a basic understanding of the science behind global warming and are solution-oriented, with turnable tiles that indicate CO2 sources and sinks, alternatives to fossil fuels, simulations of heat in the atmosphere, a graph projecting CO2 levels to rise to a height even taller than me (and I’m pretty tall), and more.

My favorite exhibits included one featuring two light bulbs of varying efficiencies that you can light by turning a handle, and a newsroom in which anyone can read a teleprompter as an anchorperson and then watch the movie they have just created. Today’s breaking news? Global warming.

This climate change exhibit will be open and continuously updated for the next three years. Al Gore himself recommended that I and about four thousand others visit it when I saw him speak at UCSD last spring. I’m sure he’d extend the invitation to you.

A stroll outside will lead to a shark tank, tide pools where kids can touch live animals, and a beautiful view of the ocean and Scripp’s pier. Walk into the other half of the museum to find the aquarium full of fishes galore, from the smallest and brightest to the largest and most camouflaged. A trip through these halls will lead you down the Pacific coast. Start up north to see jellies, eels, and sarcastic fringeheads (yes, it’s a real fish). A huge kelp forest faces a sitting space excellent for reading, thinking, and wondering. My professor once taught class here. Continue south to Mexico to see tropical fishes that children call “Dorys, Nemos, and I forgot that one’s name.” End with a visit to the gift shop to purchase books, jewelry, stuffed animals, and other ocean toys and trinkets. Strike a pose in front of the whale fountains, or grab a snack at the café. While your there, you may as well go an extra block to the beach to see the source of all this beauty – and appreciate it even more than you ever have.

Many programs for children are also available, even for the smallest toddlers and infants who are welcome to sing and learn in the A, B, Sea Club. Learn more about special programming, like the upcoming Halloween party and Polar Palooza.

Admission is a little complicated:
• Adults: $11.00
• Seniors: $9.00
• College students with ID: $8.00
• Youth (3-17 yrs,): $7.50
• UCSD Staff, Students (with ID): $7.50
• 2 yrs. and under: Free
• Scripps Oceanographic Society Members: Free
Learn more @ http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/