Trip Will Explore Santa Cruz Island

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium staff will lead a “Channel Islands Adventure” to explore the environment of Santa Cruz Island on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Participants will board the Sunfish in Oxnard and make a two-hour crossing to the island. Museum staff will discuss the sea birds, fish and marine mammals seen along the way.

Passengers will then cruise along the coast of the island before going ashore at Pelican Bay for a hike to learn about the natural and cultural history of the island. Reservations are required, call (310) 548-7563.

SCIENCE FOR FAMILIES * What do worms and sow bugs eat for dinner? The answer will be found in “Wormarama,” a bug-filled puppet show at Kidspace Museum in Pasadena on Wednesday beginning at 2:30 p.m. (818) 449-9144.

SCIENCE POLICY * “The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Big-Science Facilities,” will be discussed by John L. Heilbron, Caltech Fairchild scholar, as part of the Science, Ethics and Public Policy Seminar at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Judy Library on campus. (818) 395-4652.

* “DNA Fingerprinting,” a one-day UCLA Extension course examining the techniques and basic principles of the process, with an optional follow-up lab session, will be held at UCLA from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 6. The lab session will be held May 13. Advance registration is advised, call (310) 825-7093.

ASTRONOMY * An illustrated lecture on the 60-year history of Griffith Observatory, one of the nation’s major planetariums, will be presented in “Colonel Griffith’s Observatory,” the feature astronomy presentation at 8 p.m. Friday at Santa Monica College, Room 111 of the Business Building. It will follow the weekly Night Sky Show at 7 p.m. (310) 452-9396.

* Cal State San Bernardino will offer participants a chance to observe and learn about the springtime desert sky in a weekend course offered at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx near Baker on Friday through Sunday. (909) 880-5975.

ORNITHOLOGY * A spring bird watch will be held on the grounds of Soka University in Calabasas from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Birds that may be seen include red-tailed hawks and California quail. Reservations are recommended, call (818) 880-4649.