educational/historic field trips in southern california

Educational/Historic Field Trips in Southern California

By Kirsten Anderberg

Anacapa IslandVentura County

• Anacapa Island is located approximately 20 miles from Ventura. It takes about an hour and a half to reach by boat from Ventura Harbor. On the way to Anacapa, you may see dolphins, pelicans and whales. On the island, you may see pelicans, cormorants, other sea birds, seals and sea lions. The geology and history of the island are both educational and entertaining.

For more information on Anacapa Island’s history, visit http://resist.ca/~kirstena/pageanacapa.html

For school field trip information from Island Packers, visit http://www.islandpackers.com/fieldtrips.html

Photo: K. Anderberg 2009

http://resist.ca/~kirstena/pageanacapa.html

http://resist.ca/~kirstena/pageanacapa.html

http://www.islandpackers.com/fieldtrips.html


Seals haul out on the rocks of Anacapa Island (photo on left) and many species of fish and sea life

live in the kelp forests surrounding the island (below).

There are over 100 sea caves around the base of the island. In the photo to the right, notice the small cave opening in the middle of the photo. People kayak into these caves, and amazingly, at the back of some of the caves are sand beaches! Anacapa Island is part of the National Parks System and you can camp and hike on the island.

For lesson plans about Anacapa Island, go to the bottom of http://www.islandpackers.com/fieldtrips.html





Big Pines, CAAbandoned Angeles Zoo

• In the Angeles National Forest, off of Highway 2, in Big Pines, is an abandoned zoo. It is an interesting trip into the past, and the surrounding area is geologically and historically interesting, as well. There is an old tale that once it snowed so much that the animals just walked out over the bars of their cages! This is not true, nor are other tales that the animals burned in the zoo in a wildfire. The animals were taken to the L.A. Zoo and other surrounding zoos when the area was found inhospitable for a zoo due to fires, summer heat, and winter snow. Table Mountain up the road from this site was a NASA astronomical viewing site in the 1960’s and 70’s, and below this site, are popular winter ski resorts. Visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/maps/brochures/big_pines.pdf


The Geology of Big PinesThe white rock coming off of the hill to theleft in the photo is called “fault flour" asthat white rock is literally created by thegrinding of rocks on the San Andreas Fault underneath. This photo was taken on TableMountain Road, just off of Highway 2.Mountain High ski resort is in the background.

"The Divide, which is the location of the Big Pines Visitor Center (photo at right), is the highest point (6,862 feet) along the entire length of the (San Andreas) fault. The large rock tower, just to the west of the Visitor Center, marks the exact location of the San Andreas’ highest elevation." - Big Pines Visitors Center



http://wrightwoodcalifornia.com/big-pines

http://wrightwoodcalifornia.com/big-pines

Carpinteria Tar Pit Beach• Carpinteria is named after this beach, where Chumash Indian

carpenters would use the naturally occurring tar coming out of the cliffs and pits to waterproof canoes for use in the ocean and rivers.

To learn more about this interesting field trip, which is approximately one hour’s drive north of Los Angeles, visit http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=25116

http://www.lotsafunmaps.com/Santa_Barbara/Carpinteria_Beach_and_the_Tarpits.html#gallery


http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=25116

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=25116





Carpinteria Seal Sanctuary• From December to May, harbor seals and their pups use the beach just a bit

southeast of the Tar Pit Beach as a protected rookery. From the cliffs above, you can watch them during this time, as the beaches are closed for the seals during this season.

Read more about the seal reserve at http://www.carpinteria.com/points_of_interest/thesealrookery/

You can view a fun video of the seal sanctuary at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n47KzXn0nU


William S. Hart ParkNewhall, CA

Left, Hart DogCemetery

Right,Tower at Hart Park, SanGabrielMountainsIn background

William S. Hart was a famous movie star in the early 1900’s. He shot films at the Hart Ranch back in the 1920’s and lived there, as a quiet place in the country away from Hollywood. He eventually built the famous adobe ranch house on the hill. At the Hart Park, there is an animal park, a museum, interesting buildings and plants, oak trees, picnic tables, and more!

Hart Animals, Photo: K. Anderberg 2008

Hart Dog Cemetery, Photo: K. Anderberg 2008 Hart Park Tower, Photo: K. Anderberg 2008

Free tours of the Hart Adobe areavailable at http://www.hartmuseum.org/tours.html

W.S. Hart was a Silent Movie Star in the 1920’s

Above is a photo of the WSHart Park grounds in the 1940’s when Hart still owned the property. Notice the house on the hill, and the tower to the right…and the hill in the foreground is now where there are picnic tables…The photo on the left is Hart’s adobe house on the hill. You can learn more about Hart at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._HartPhoto: K. Anderberg 2008

Photo from http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/film.htm

Photo from www.scvhistory.com

Mentryville/Pico CanyonLos Angeles County

In 1876, Charles Mentry drilled CA’s first successful commercial oil well. This was one of the first oil towns, but it is now a ghost town. Restored by the County as a park, the oldbuildings and beautiful scenery make for a fun day trip. Behind Mentryville is PicoCanyon, the site of the first successful oil well, and it has hiking paths. Learn more athttp://www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=35Also visit: http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/pico.htm

Photo: K, Anderberg 2009 Photo: K. Anderberg 2009

San Fernando Mission• The San Fernando Mission was built in 1797 by Catholic priests from Spain and

Mexico. In the mid-1800’s, Mexico took CA from Spanish rule, taking control of the missions from the priests. In 1875, President Lincoln signed a declaration at the behest of Bishop Alemany, to return the missions to the churches that created them.

The San Fernando Mission in 1915 The San Fernando Mission in 2010

Photo: K. Anderberg 2010Photo from http://digital-library.csun.edu/SFV/

• Lesson Plans for the Mission http://californias-missions.org/lesson_plans.htm

• Teachers can apply for field trip grants to the San Fernando Mission at http://www.californiamissionsfoundation.org/aatb.html

Mission billboard, 1950’s

Photo from http://digital-library.csun.edu/SFV/

Vasquez RocksAqua Dulce, CA

Vasquez Rocks are named after the famous bandit Tibursio Vasquez, who used to hide out from thelaw in these rocks in the late 1800’s. Many TV shows, such as Star Trek, were filmed here, using thelandscape to simulate the moon or other planets due to the unusual rock formations. Vasquez Rocks are located in the Mojave Desert and thus it can be hot, and precautions must be taken on field trips

tothis area. Summer visits are not recommended. This 932 acre park has lots of hiking trails, rocks, etc.And is located within Los Angeles County, outside of Santa Clarita. These rock formations werecreated by the San Andreas Fault. The rocks were formed about 25 million years ago, and this is an historic site where native people, including the Chumash, lived, around 450 AD.

Photo; K. Anderberg 2009 Photo: K. Anderberg 2009

Resources for Vasquez Rocks:

For information about tours and park presentations for school groups, visithttp://parks.lacounty.info/Parkinfo.asp?URL=cms1_033383.asp&Title=Vasquez

For some Hollywood history about Vasquez Rocks, visit http://www.moviesites.org/vasquez.htm

For information about the geology of the region: http://scvresources.com/geology/aguadulc.htm

Photo: K. Anderberg 2009 Photo: K. Anderberg 2009

Olivas AdobeVentura County

The Olivas Adobe estate is one of the only two story adobes left standing. It was built inthe 1800’s by the Olivas family, and it has become a museum with artifacts of the 1800’s on display, along with historic farming equipment, a small garden, grapes from the Mission, and other interesting and educational exhibits. It is located amidst farmlands and could be coordinated with a trip to the Ortega Adobe and the Ventura mission for more examples of adobes of the late 1700’s – 1800’s. This adobe helps tell the story of the Wild West and docents on site enjoy entertaining visitors with tales of life in these times.


The Olivas Adobe portrays life as it was in the mid-1800’s.

Photo to the left is the fountain, bottom left is the kids’ room in

the museum, and on the bottom right is a photo of the outdoor

oven they used.For information, visit

http://www.olivasadobe.org/



Ortega Adobe in Ventura County

Visit http://www.ventura.com/points_of_interest/ortegaadobe/

The Ortega Adobe is an interesting little adobe on the edge of town in Ventura. From the classic adobe period of the mid-1800’s, this adobe shows how life was lived in those times. Interior views of the bedroom, kitchen and living rooms are especially beautiful in the morning light as it lights up the rooms. This adobe was the birthplace of the famous Ortega Chili Company, whose canned chilis you can still buy at stores today. This adobe is now a public park.

Photo from www.ventura.com

Ventura MissionBuilt in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, the Ventura Mission gives a glimpse of life in the1800’s. The beautiful church and outdoor courtyard also has a Mission Museum and next door, there is an archaeological dig at the Albinger Museum, where artifacts 3,500 years old are ondisplay. (http://www.albingermuseum.org/)

For more information about the Ventura Mission, visithttp://www.sanbuenaventuramission.org/history_main.html


Rancho Camulos Along Highway 126

Another adobe from the mid-1800’s, this is another example of a look into life duringthose times. The site has an orange grove, an old barn and old ranch equipment and buildings, the adobe house is being rebuilt and it is very beautiful. There is a huge house in the back of the property with historical merit, as well.Visit http://www.ranchocamulos.org/

The City of Fillmore is also close by and they have a train graveyard and museum. And a few miles further up the road in Santa Paula is the Oil Museum. Visit them at http://www.oilmuseum.net.


Rancho Camulos


The barn at Rancho Camulos is being held up by wooden lean-to’s after earthquake damage in 1994.

Rancho Camulos has special docent-led educational tours for school groups. Visit http://www.ranchocamulos.org/tours_at_rancho_camulos.html for more information.

More So. CA Field Trip Resources

• More field trip ideas in the L.A. area - http://teachtopia.com/los-angeles-field-trip-guide.html

• Creative Teaching with Historic Places http://crm.cr.nps.gov/issue.cfm?volume=23&number=08

• La Brea Tar Pits Field Trips – School groups are free!!

http://www.tarpits.org/education/visits.html • Los Angeles Museum of Natural History – School groups are free!! http://www.nhm.org/site/for-teachers

educational/historic field trips in southern california

Documents

rocks of anacapa island

island packers

big pines visitor center

sea caves

interesting field trip

interesting trip

anacapa islands history

sea birds