Space Shuttle Endeavor at the California ScienCenter Well Worth the Trip

The California ScienCenter is located in Exposition Park, about an hour-long drive from Thousand Oaks. Located adjacent to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the ScienCenter is a fantastic place to explore the world of science with the kids.

Sweetening the deal is the addition of Space Shuttle Endeavor at the Samuel Oschin Pavilion, the Endeavor's temporary home until the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center is opened (currently anticipated sometime in 2018).

The Endeavor was first launched into space in May 1992 and its final mission was in May 2011, with 25 space missions and nearly 123 million miles flown. The orbiter has a wingspan of 78 feet and length of 122 feet. At 57 feet tall, it has quite a presence inside the Pavilion.

Also impressive is the array of informational displays surrounding the Endeavor, covering key milestones for all NASA space shuttles, including the Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor. For example, we learned that the Discovery has flown the most miles of any of the shuttles - over 148 million miles on 39 missions.

In addition to the Pavilion, the Endeavour: The California Story exhibit contains artifacts and displays associated with the shuttle program here in Southern California.

Admission to the California Science Center is free of charge; parking is currently $10. Due to the popularity of the Endeavor exhibit, timed reservations are required for weekends, holidays, special events and other high attendance periods, including Thanksgiving week and school winter/spring breaks. There is a $2 fee for online, printable reservations, $3 for phone reservations.

Better yet, book the Endeavor and an IMAX film together and the $2 Endeavor fee is waived. You won't regret it as the IMAX films are spectacular.

Visit www.californiasciencecenter.org to learn more.

Live Beehive on Display at the Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum

The Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula contains nearly a thousand vintage farm items ranging from tractors, machines and tools as well as rotating art and photo exhibits as well as educational sessions for all ages. One other unique aspect of the Agriculture Museum is this live beehive exhibit, which bees can access through the exterior wall. Fascinating to see in person! This is a permanent display at the museum.

General public admission to the Agriculture Museum (as of February 2015) is $5 adults, $3 seniors, students and AAA members and $1 for children 6-17. Kids 5 and under are free. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (changing to Fri-Sun 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 3/1/15)

For more information, visit the Museum of Ventura County website at www.venturamuseum.org or call 805.653.0323.

Historic and Iconic Baseball Artifact Exhibit at Reagan Library, April 4th to Sept 4th

Baseball Artifacts in “Baseball! The Exhibition”

At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum

April 4 - September 4, 2014

Babe Ruth bat (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)

Running through September 4, 2014, Baseball is a 12,000 square foot exhibition featuring over 700 artifacts, including some of the rarest, historic and iconic baseball memorabilia from the largest known private collector in the U.S. The exhibit displays extraordinary artifacts from Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, and scores of other historically important players and organizations. Also featured will be rare artifacts related to Ronald Reagan and baseball from his days calling Chicago Cubs games, to signed balls and jerseys he received while President.

Joe DiMaggio jersey (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)Honus Wagner trading card (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)The exhibition celebrates the great American pastime of baseball by showcasing the glory days of baseball from the first balls, bats, gloves and uniforms ever used, to bringing together the most iconic pieces of baseball history, such as Joe DiMaggio’s record-setting ball that drove his 56 game hitting streak and Babe Ruth’s 1939 uniform from when he coached the Brooklyn Dodgers.  

Featured items on display in Baseball! The Exhibition include:

• An exhibit dedicated to Babe Ruth, which will display his traveling trunk, including his 1939 uniform while coaching the Brooklyn Dodgers, his baseball bat and his famous fur coat
• A Honus Wagner trading card - the rarest and most valuable of all baseball cards
• Jerseys/uniforms worn by Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Don Sutton, Orel Hershiser, Barry Bonds, David Ortiz, Fernando Valenzuela, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and more
• Baseball hit by Barry Bonds (the homerun ball that tied Hank Aaron’s record), as well as a Hank Aaron-signed ball
• Baseballs from Joe DiMaggio, including his record-setting ball that drove his 56 game hitting streak as well as the ball that ended the streak
• Baseball signed by Pete Rose that broke Ty Cobb’s all-time hitting record
• A special section featuring the history of the Brooklyn Dodgers and their legacy in Los Angeles
• Some of the first historic bats, balls, gloves, uniforms, stadium items and folk art related to the sport as well as an unmatched collection of rare baseball cards and photographs of all the astonishing athletes who played the game
• And much, much more

The Reagan Library is located at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley.  Public hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.  The Museum is closed only on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.  For General admission is currently $16; $13 for ages 62+, $9 for ages 11-17 and $6 for ages 3-10.  Museum exhibit tickets may be pre-purchased at www.reaganlibrary.com/tickets.  For more information, call (800) 410.8354 or visit www.reaganlibrary.com/baseball.

Parkers Brothers Game Box (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)

SPY Exhibition at Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley

In December we stopped by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum to check out the new SPY: The Secret World of Espionage exhibit. This 12,000 sq ft display is a collaboration between the CIA, FBI and other organization to provide the public a unique opportunity to see over 300 historic spy gadget and documents. The West Coast premiere of SPY is right here in Ventura County at the hilltop Reagan Library in Simi Valley through March 9, 2014!

Check out how a simple coin has been loaded with a tiny poisonous needle meant to be used as a suicide device; or how an insect-sized robotic dragonfly, called an insectothopter, was designed to gather intelligence from the air as the world’s first miniaturized unmanned aerial vehicle; or what a fake movie script looks like that was created in order to rescue diplomats from Iran and inspired the movie ARGO.  See the actual cockpit from one of the world's nine remaining A-12 Oxcart spy planes. View objects like a KGB poison pellet-firing umbrella, spy cameras, tear-gas pens, shoes with hidden compartments, and even a hollow molar the East German secret police created to conceal a microdot in a spy's mouth.

Bring the kids! There are several interactive features to the exhibit too, including a laser maze to escape from and a voice disguise machine. And of course the rest of the museumis packed with interesting, interactive historical items and exhibits.

The Reagan Library is located at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley.  Public hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.  The Museum is only closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.  For Museum Admission fees, please visit www.reaganlibrary.com.  Museum exhibit tickets may be pre-purchased at www.reaganlibrary.com/tickets.  For more information, call (800) 410.8354 or visit www.reaganlibrary.com/spies.

The collapsible Welbike was designed for British Special Operations Executive and OSS Agents to use as a getaway vehicle behind enemy lines during World War II. It could be delivered by parachute and deployed in ten seconds. The Welbike could travel up to 30 miles per hour, and go 90 miles on one tank of gas. (Photo courtesy of the Franklin Institute)This family-friendly exhibit includes fun and entertaining interactives for people of all ages, allowing visitors to disguise their voice, disguise themselves, and go through an actual laser maze. (Photo courtesy of the Franklin Institute)

This KGB Umbrella, which fires poisonous pellets, was used to assassin Bulgarian defector and BBC reporter Georgi Markov in London in 1978. (Photo courtesy of the Franklin Institute)This optional CIA-issued suicide pin gave U-2 pilot Gary Powers the choice between life and death. The pin was coated in saxitoxin – a lethal shellfish poison – and concealed in a silver dollar. Upon capture, Gary Powers chose not to use it. (Photo courtesy of the Franklin Institute)

Major Abraham Lincoln Exhibit at the Reagan Library Starts June 1 through Sept 30

Twenty-Five renowned Abraham Lincoln collectors and DreamWorks Studios joined the Reagan Library for a major Abraham Lincoln Exhibit June 1st through September 30, 2013, including one of only three of President Lincoln's stovepipe hats in existence, a bloodied pillow from the night he died on April 15, 1865, a Lincoln-signed Emancipation Proclamation, sets from DreamWorks' "Lincoln" movie and hundreds of other artificacts.

An amazing, larger than life Abraham Lincoln model on display at the Reagan LibraryThe exhibit delved deep into the life of our sixteenth president with the help of twenty-five of the country’s most well-known Lincoln collectors, including Louise Taper, Hildene (the Lincoln Family Home), Ford’s Theater, the National Archives, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, as well as with DreamWorks Studios.

Here's a peak at some of the items that were on display.

The nearly 150 year old pillow where Lincoln's head rested the day he died.

A set from the Lincoln movie on display.

Lincoln's final paycheck, issued in advance, which was later returned and on display here.

A lock of Abraham Lincoln's childhood hair on display.

The Reagan Library is located at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley.  Public hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.  The Museum is only closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.  The Museum admission fees are $16.00 for general admission, $13.00 for seniors 62 and over, $10 for children 11-17, $6 for children 5-10 and free for children 4 years of age and under.  Museum exhibit tickets may be pre-purchased at www.reaganlibrary.com/tickets.

More images on the CVG Facebook page at THIS LINK.

For more information, call (800) 410.8354 or visit www.reaganlibrary.com.