Garden Play

Huntington Library and Gardens

This is a lovely place to stroll with a baby, little kids and friends. 

The big attraction for 2- to 7-year-olds is the Children's Garden, with its spurting, bubbling, and misting fountains. Plus, tunnels, a "rainbow room," a little house, chimes--you drop pebbles into them!--and topiary. Be sure to bring a change of clothing for toddlers. 

But be forewarned: The Children's Garden is ridiculously hot in the summer. Just when the weather is favorable, the Huntington cuts back it's hours. (For a garden with kid-friendly hours and activities, check out Descanso Gardens in La Canada.) Also, the $15-$20 adult admission is CRAZY. (Yes, there's one free day a month, but you have to reserve in advance.)

However, the children's garden isn't the only fun spot at the Huntington. The nearby Conservatory is intended for middle-school-aged kids, but it's also fun for younger ones. 

They get a good introduction to a jungle.

Look for koi and ducks (mallards) in the pond at the gorgeous Japanese Garden, and at the Lily Ponds. 

The lake in the new Chinese Garden also attracts waterfowl. In general, the Huntington is a good place for bird watching. One easy to spot species: those medium-sized black birds with white tummies and long bobbing tails are black phoebes. Look in tall trees for red-tailed hawks.

Young ladies may enjoy the tea room. (Reservations recommended.) Boys might prefer to chase lizards in the Desert Garden. 

The Huntington has a wonderful gift shop with a good selection of nature books for kids.

The Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, CA 91108

626-405-2100

Closed Tuesdays

Adults: $20 weekends, $15 weekdays

Under 5: free

Age 5-11: $6

Students: $10 

Our family became members at the Huntington because we live nearby. But membership here is expensive and not especially generous. Descanso offers better family events, as well as nature classes for kids. The LA Zoo admits more family members--including extended family and childcare providers--on its basic membership. If this sounds critical, don't get me started on Pinkie and Blue Boy!

You'll Love This Spot

Monrovia Canyon Park

This is one of the sweetest of the easily accessible front-country spots in the San Gabriel Mountains. It's beautifully maintained by the city of Monrovia and volunteers. The addition of a darling nature center makes this a great place for families. 

If you're hiking with energetic kids over age 5 or 6--or a little baby you plan to carry the entire way--you can opt for hiking the entire 1.7 miles of the waterfall trail. (You can find the trailhead to the left of the entrance booth.) At times this trail is narrow with steep drop- offs, so I wouldn't trust a toddler on it. It also has some hilly stretches, which could make carrying a squirming toddler a workout. (See below for smoother route for little kids.)

Still, this stretch is less crowded and affords better wildlife viewing. One a trip last fall, we got a glimpse of a pair of deer before they dashed off through an oak woodland. Native grey squirrels are abundant here. They're smaller and grayer than the nonnatives we have in the city. The hilly trail also makes for pleasurable views of tree tops on the slopes below. 

 

For a shorter, flatter trip: Drive past the guard station to the next parking lot. There's a trailhead across the street from the lot. This gives you a two-mile round trip. 

To ensure you get to the waterfall with your toddler: Drive further up the road to the nature center and picnic area. The trailhead is behind the nature center at the back of the picnic area. From here, it's an easy 3/4 mile to the waterfall. Remember that forest canyons can be quite cold in the winter. Please, if you bring a dog, observe the leash law.

This isn't the most spectacular waterfall in the forest, but the streamside hike is lovely. The trees with eye-like knots are alders. The giant twisting ones are coast live oaks. The sweet-smelling trees are California bays. Those cement structures across the stream are check dams, designed by the US (Army) Corps of Engineers, in the 1960s, to slow the flow. 

Our 21-month-old son rode upstream in a Kelty carrier. Then marched back most of the way--with a few handholds here and there. 

Don't miss the nature center! Real snakes and other animals represented via taxidermy are worth a look. And a friendly volunteer or ranger may have answers to your questions. 

Monrovia Canyon Park

1200 N. Canyon Blvd.

Monrovia, CA  91016

626-256-8282

Admission: $5 per car

Park gates are locked at 5 p.m.

From the 210 freeway, exit at Myrtle Avenue. Drive north through downtown Monrovia. (North is easy to find in these foothill communities: it's toward the mountains.) After 2 miles, turn right on Scenic Drive. Soon you'll have to take a short jog to stay on Scenic Drive, then continue east about a mile to the park entrance. There are a couple of signs en route.

Best Science Books For Kids 2008

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced the finalists  for its Science Books and Films prizes. Here are the finalists for best picture book.

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"Eggs," by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Emma Stevenson. Holiday House, New York, 2008. 32 pp. $16.95. Eggs provide a shelter in which a developing animal can breathe, be nourished with food and drink, and grow. They are laid by birds, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and even some mammals. Singer presents examples of their innumerable shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns. She also discusses how burial, brooding, and nests protect eggs, and she describes varieties of hatching. Stevenson's detailed gouache paintings convey the eggs' allure.

"Sisters and Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World," by Steve Jenkins (illustrator) and Robin Page. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2008. 32 pp. $16. Animals and families always fascinate children, but the facts about siblings that fill this book will also engage adults. For example, young shrews line up holding each others' tails, with the mother leading the way. Female termites lay 30,000 eggs a day, whereas giant anteaters are always single offspring. Nile crocodiles cooperate even before they hatch, but hyena cubs can fight to the death. The authors' collages are sure to appeal to young readers.

"Spiders," by Nic Bishop. Scholastic, New York, 2007. 48 pp. $17.99. Spider enthusiasts and arachnophobes alike will be drawn to the amazing, up-close photographs in this informative introduction to these eight-legged predators. The concise, well-written text offers numerous interesting facts about spiders. For example, they were among the earliest terrestrial predators, having arisen more than 350 million years ago. And although "silk is the secret of spider success," many of the more than 38,000 species do not use webs. Fishing spiders dart over the water's surface, and some jumping spiders can leap 20 times their body length to pounce on prey.

"Wings," by Sneed B. Collard III, illustrated by Robin Brickman. Charlesbridge, Watertown, Massachusetts, 2008. 32 pp. $16.95. ISBN 9781570916113. Paper, $7.95. Insects, birds, and bats all move through the air on wings. Collard introduces the diversity of these appendages and their uses. Wings can be covered with scales, feathers, or bare skin. They allow peregrines to twist and turn in a dive, leaf-nosed bats to lazily flap over the ground, milkweed bugs to move short distances among patches, and Arctic terns to migrate between the polar regions. They help animals chase, catch, flee, and mate. To illustrate this variety, Brickman sculpted painted paper into colorful collages.

"The Wolves Are Back," by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Wendell Minor. Dutton Juvenile, New York, 2008. 32 pp. $16.95. The wolves of Yellowstone were once shot until they were eliminated. However, with changed values and the yearning to again hear howls in the wild, wolves were reintroduced to the national park in 1995. As the wolves multiplied, wildflowers reappeared (wolves chased away the mountain sheep that had eaten them) and birds returned (wolves hunted bison and elk that had trampled young aspen needed for perches and grasses needed for food). By following along as a wolf pup wanders the Lamar Valley, readers learn how wolves are even important to halting riverbank erosion. George's simple text and landscape artist Minor's beautiful illustrations convey the importance of maintaining all parts of ecosystems.

AAAS has also announced nominees in the Middle Grades and Young Adult categories.