Science / Medicine - Gallery Fields Exhibit of Pre-Columbian Sports
Sunday afternoon football has become a religious ritual for millions of couch potatoes across America, but grueling sports contests were actually a part of the religion in many pre-Columbian cultures.
In the newly refurbished Pre-Columbian Gallery at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, a video display shows a re-creation of an ancient Mesoamerican ballgame. The display also includes uniforms and equipment used in the game, an integral part of ancient Indian cultures, often used to resolve conflicts.
Other elements of the exhibit include a wall mural of the city of Machu Picchu and pieces from the museum’s permanent collection of pre-Columbian gold artifacts. Many of the cases replicate the architecture of Machu Picchu.
The Pre-Columbian Gallery presents cultural patterns from early civilizations ranging from Peru to Mexico. Exhibits cover Middle American culture from its nomadic beginnings to the Spanish conquests in the early 16th Century.
The exhibit, which has been closed for several months for renovation, will reopen to the public on Dec. 15. Call (213) 744-3466.
MARINE SCIENCE
No better time exists for exploring tide pools along Santa Barbara’s beaches than afternoon winter low tides. Naturalists from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will lead an exploration of the environment and life found in those tide pools Sunday at 1 p.m. Locations to be announced. Call (805) 682-4711.
The Sierra Club’s Natural Science Section will also be leading trips to the tide pools of the Crystal Cove area near Newport Beach on Saturday at low tide. Call (213) 429-6953.
NATURAL SCIENCE
Channel Islands National Park Ranger Jean Van Tatenhove will discuss the importance of the islands’ hawks, falcons, owls and other birds of prey in a program at the Visitors Center in Ventura on Sunday at 2 p.m.
On Dec. 17, Park Ranger Alan Barton will discuss the island fox, the largest land mammal native to the Channel Islands at the Visitors Center at 2 p.m. Call (805) 644-8262.
Friends of Newport Bay, in conjunction with the Sierra Club, will be leading walking tours of Newport Bay on Saturday from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Naturalists will be stationed along the route to explain the different plant communities, wildlife habitats and animals found in the area. Call (714) 786-8878 or (714) 646-8009.
BIOLOGY
Francis Crick, one of the discoverers of the double helix structure of DNA, will give his personal account of the scientific discovery and also describe his current research in understanding the human brain in a lecture sponsored by the Southern California Skeptics on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium. Call (818) 356-4652.
HEALTH
Breast Cancer Recovery Plus will be having a supportive holiday discussion session for breast cancer patients on Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. at the Mercury Savings & Loan on Sepulveda Boulevard in West Los Angeles. Call (213) 452-0200 or (213) 478-9463.
ASTRONOMY
The scientific possibilities of the Christmas star and origins of some holiday customs will be the subject of the El Camino College Planetarium program on Friday and Dec. 15 at 8 p.m. Call (213) 715-3200.
The Los Angeles Valley College Planetarium show will explore the birth, life and death of a star on Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 4 p.m. Call (818) 781-1200, Ext. 335.
Time will be the focus of the Orange County Astronomers’ program at Rancho Santiago College’s Tessman Planetarium on Sunday and Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. Call (714) 667-3097.
Edwin C. Krup, Griffith Observatory director, will instruct a one-day class on the astronomical traditions of Native Americans of California and the Southwest on Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at UCLA. The class is offered through the UCLA Extension Division of Science. Call (213) 825-7093.
