Tucked away in the hills of Hemet, California in the area of Diamond Lake, is a collection of what appears to be almost a nondescript office complex from the street, but what signs along the roads herald as the Western Science Center (WSC), which is tucked between a nearby waterworks facility (offering its own tours) and the Western Science Academy, a nearby campus for paleontological research. The Western Science Center is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and already it has a few notable distinctions. It was recently annexed by the Smithsonian (an institution that’s lost a bit of luster of late, sadly, thanks to the vagaries of the current administration), and it got a top rating in 2008 from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for a low carbon footprint–the first US museum to gain such recognition.
Behind what appears to be a collection of office complexes and warehouses is a little treasure trove of prehistory, tucked in the hills of Hemet, California, surrounded by long roads and lovely scenery.
Built near a massive excavation near Diamond Lake, the museum also has a treasure trove of fossils from Pacific Mastodons and massive ground sloths, all of which died out after the last Ice Age over 10,000 years ago. There were also some great dinosaur fossils from New Mexico, including a species I’d never heard of (an embarrassment for a childhood dinosaur geek). Not knowing any of this before our visit, my wife and I went for two reasons; she had a three-day weekend, and as an added bonus, Super Bowl Sunday meant it wouldn’t be crowded (we still made it home in plenty of time for Bad Bunny’s halftime show, too). My wife and I learned of WSC after stopping by the museum’s exhibit booth at Comic Con Revolution over the past few years, and seeing it firsthand made for a fascinating trip through California’s past.
Outward it isn’t much, but once you park and walk towards the entrance to the Science Center, you’ll see its clever entrance depicting various maps of Earth as it appeared through various ages of prehistory (Pre-Cambrian, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, et al). It added a nice sense of anticipation to the visit.
The entrance/lobby’s gift shop includes tote bags, stuffed snakes, toy prehistoric animals, and all kinds of other cute little mementos for sale. Admission for adults is only $10, with discounts for kids and seniors, too (kids under 5 are free), so you won’t need a lot of cash for this trip. The museum has no stairs, so it’s easily accessible to strollers and wheelchairs, too.
Prairie Home Companions
The corridor outside the museum’s theater and main exhibit hall are lined with exhibits showing tools, artwork and even pieces of actual homes where people in Hemet’s Diamond Lake region lived centuries ago, including Native Americans and 19th century European ‘settlers’ (colonizers).
This was a piece of an authentic 19th century home built with a combination of Scottish architecture and local construction techniques. I was amazed to see that a piece of its original glass window survived, as well as the wooden front door. They really built these homes to last.
Recreated post Ice Age habitat for early Native Americans in what became the region of Diamond Lake in Hemet. This exhibit placed pieces of theatrical scrim inside the ‘windows’ of the hut, where images of a human family were projected. To the left (unseen in this photo) were pieces of recovered artwork and quartz arrowheads.
Bedrock Theater
Stepping to the right of the outside corridor, there’s a darkened entrance into a small theater with a few simulated stone seats to give an ‘outdoor’ feeling. Four digital projectors work in concert to create a 270-degree panoramic image. Every half hour, two short films are screened; “Echoes of the Past,” and “Discovery & Recovery.”
“Echoes of the Past” offers a simulation of what life was like on the Diamond Lake area of Hemet approximately 10,000 years ago, with large mastodons and wild predators roaming the plains and hills of prehistoric Riverside County. “Discovery & Recovery” details the excavations and fossil conservation efforts at Diamond Lake, which began after modern development in the area unearthed rare fossils (since then, the excavations have yielded over a million fossil specimens). Together, both films run about 20-odd minutes. To take in the full view of the panoramic images, I’d advise visitors to sit as close to the rear wall of the theater as possible.
Home of the Pacific Mastodon
Tusks, a skull, ribs and part of a femur help to piece together “Xena,” a female teenage Pacific Mastodon that lived in the region around the end of the last Ice Age, over 10,000 years ago. Keeping Xena company are pieces of a full-sized male Pacific Mastodon named “Max,” being held in a similar frame (males were generally larger with more dramatically curved tusks). These two are the museum’s pride and joy, since these massive creatures were some of the larger specimens from the Diamond Lake fossil recovery. Other Ice Age mammal fossils native to the region at the museum include a full skeleton of a giant ground sloth, ancient bisons and prehistoric horses, as well.
“Xena” the Pacific Mastodon’s surviving bits are held in an upright frame approximating the teenager’s approximate height. Standing behind her is “Max,” a male specimen discovered earlier in the Diamond Lake excavation. In glass cases on the displays’ bases were other bits and pieces of local mastodons recovered in the area.
In front of Xena and Max’s frames, there are glass-encased skulls and tusks of Pacific Mastodon fossil specimens recovered at Diamond Lake (male on the left, female on the right). The WSC hosts the largest collection of Pacific mastodon specimens in the world.
Another impressive fossilized prehistoric mammal skeleton at the museum was the Giant Ground Sloth; a formidable forerunner to its smaller, famously lazy descendants today. In life, this specimen weighed about 3,500 lbs (1587 kg).
Under glass is the tusk and jawbone of a Long-Horned Bison, which died out in the region approximately 20,000 years ago.
Who’s the New Guy?
It’s really embarrassing for a former childhood dinosaur fanatic like myself to learn there’s a large, predatory species of tyrannosauroid that somehow escaped my radar. In this case, I can’t be entirely blamed since Dynamoterror dynastes, a close relative of T-Rex (my childhood favorite), was only discovered and identified as a separate species around 2012, when the first fossil specimen was found in New Mexico. This past weekend was when I first saw the fossilized remains of this creature on a wall frame–similar to the those used for the two mastodons. There was also a beautiful Jurassic Park-looking sculpture of the creature’s head, made to scale. Living in the late Cretaceous Period, some 78-80 million years ago, Dynamoterror could grow up to 30 ft. (9 m) in length–slightly smaller than T-Rex, but no less formidable.
As you exit the theater, you’re greeted by Dynamoterror’s head, which points to the mastodons and the giant ground sloth.
On the side of the display case were drafts of rejected artwork that were considered before curators chose the more Jurassic Park-looking design seen here. When in doubt, imagineers often defaulted to T-Rex’s features.
Fragments of hip, femur, shoulder, skull and jaw of Dynamoterror are held in an upright frame similar to the type used for the two mastodon skeletons. The Dynamoterror, slightly smaller than T-Rex, grew to around 30 ft (9m) in length.
Below the frame of the Dynamoterror was a more complete fossilized-skull of the long-extinct creature behind plexiglass.
“We have a T-Rex!”
An unexpected surprise that I didn’t count on seeing at the Western Science Center was a large, Tyrannosaurus rex skull tucked away in a corner alcove near the main exhibit hall exit. Like many kids, T-Rex was my favorite dinosaur as a boy, and it capped off the tour nicely to see its skull atop a large, faux-stone perch at the creature’s approximate standing height of 15 ft (4.5 m) at the head (40 ft/12 meters in length). As most avid dinosaur geeks probably know, T-Rex lived in the late Cretaceous period, around 66-68 million years ago.
Saw this tucked away in a corner, and I about fainted from excitement. My inner 8-year old was squeeing…
The T-Rex appears to be gazing down upon its awed visitors from over a stone fence.
Fun at a Snail’s Pace
Exiting the Exhibit hall back into the adjacent corridor, there is one final display at the far end of the museum, and for our visit, it was a curiously fascinating exhibit about gastropods–aka, snails. From the common garden snails (the bane of many farmers) to exotic marine snails to seeing the shells of long extinct varieties. I saw a couple of kids at this display, and it reminded me how much kids love snails, because, well… they’re slimy and kinda gross. What’s not for a kid to love, right?
I never learned so much about snails as I did that day.
I love this magnifier instrument, the “Wentzscope,” which is a larger-scale, sturdy microscope used for public science exhibits. In this case, it was used to see detail in tiny snail shells. I could I had one for reading restaurant menus (hehe). My wife half-kiddingly implied that she wanted one for her classroom. I actually googled this instrument when we came home, but they’re sold mainly for commercial use, and are a mite too expensive for private collectors.
Varieties of exotic conches, or large sea snails, including (in the lower right corner) an exotic “Chiragra Spider Conch,” with its leg-like protrusions, found in the Philippines.
Mementosaurus
On the way back to the exit, through the lobby gift shop, we made an impulse buy to commemorate our visit; a matching pair of T-Rex and Triceratops fridge magnets. How often I’d seen movies of these two slugging it out as a kid, so it seemed appropriate to get them as a matching set.
Our day at the Western Science Center was an eye-opening experience. Makes a great day out for curious kids, too; or if, like my wife and I, you’re a curious adult. If you’re ever in SoCal and visiting in or around Riverside County (a large county that also encompasses Palm Springs), I recommend a side-quest to the Academy Science Center. Short of building a time-traveling DeLorean, the WSC offers an imaginative, affordable way to visit California’s prehistoric past.
All 77 of my photos from the Academy Science Center are HERE in this link.
Admission Prices and Location
Adult admission is only $10, seniors are $8.50, kids over 5 are $7 and under 4 are free. The address is 2245 Searl Parkway, Hemet, California 92543. The phone number is 951-791-0033. Enjoy your time travel!
