Western Science Center facts for kids
The Western Center Museum campus.
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| Former name | Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology |
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| Established | 2006 |
| Location | 2345 Searl Parkway Hemet, CA 92543 |
| Opening hours | Tuesday - Sunday, 10am – 5pm |
The Western Science Center (WSC) is an exciting museum in Hemet, California. It's located right next to Diamond Valley Lake. This museum is famous for its huge collection of amazing finds. You can see ancient Native American tools and incredible Ice Age fossils.
Many of these fossils were found when Diamond Valley Lake was being built. Some of the most famous include "Max," a giant mastodon, and "Xena," a big Columbian mammoth. The museum also has dinosaur fossils from New Mexico. It first opened its doors in 2006. The goal was to create a top-notch place for studying and showing off nearly a million items found at the lake.
Contents
The Museum Building
The museum building is super cool and very eco-friendly. It's about 33,000 square feet in size. It was designed to be one of the greenest museums in the United States.
- It has solar panels on the roof to make electricity.
- Cold-water pipes run under the floor to keep the building cool.
- The outdoor areas use plants that don't need much water.
- The museum also reuses a lot of its water.
In 2008, the building earned a special award called LEED Platinum Status. This is the highest award for green buildings. It was the first museum in the U.S. to get this honor!
The museum has a main area for public displays. There's also another area for exhibits that change often. The museum's huge collection of items is kept in a special storage area. This area is not open to the public. It has tall, motorized shelves that hold many ancient artifacts.
Awesome Exhibits
Outside the museum, there's a long walkway that shows a timeline of life on Earth. When you walk into the lobby, you'll see tall walls that look like layers of rock. These walls have reproduction fossils sticking out!
Your tour starts with fun, hands-on exhibits. These show the natural history of the local valleys. You'll also learn about European and Native American cultures from the area. The museum displays items given by the Domenigoni family, who were early settlers. You can also see artifacts from the Soboba band of Luiseño Indians. They lived in the area long before others.
You can watch two movies in a special theater. This theater shakes with the movies, making it feel like you're there! One movie shows how Diamond Valley Lake was built. The other is about the ancient animals of the Pleistocene Ice Age.
Ice Age Giants
Next, you'll enter the paleontology gallery. This area is full of amazing fossils. These fossils were found and studied by scientists. The biggest stars here are "Max," the largest mastodon found in the western U.S., and "Xena," a huge Columbian mammoth.
You'll also see "Li'l Stevie," another mastodon. This one is very special because it's displayed just as it was found. It's still partly buried in the dirt! The gallery also features the skeleton of a Harlan's ground sloth. There are also interactive displays that teach you about archaeology and paleontology. You can also check out temporary exhibits in a large special area.
Prehistory Pathways
On August 21, 2021, the museum opened a brand new gallery called Prehistory Pathways. This exhibit focuses on fossils found in New Mexico's Menefee Formation. It highlights the museum's research in that area. A special part of this gallery is Ornatops, a type of dinosaur called a hadrosaur. The actual main fossil of this dinosaur is at the science center! You can also see amazing artwork and models by artist Brian Engh.
Dig Site Fun
The museum also has a full-size pretend archaeology and paleontology dig site. Students first started digging here in the spring of 2009. Museum staff work with local schools to teach students how to properly dig for fossils and artifacts. Visitors can also watch students working at this active dig site.
Museum Connections
In November 2008, the Smithsonian Institution gave the Western Science Center a special status. This means the WSC is now connected to the famous Smithsonian museums.
