FREE ACTIVITIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
(and others with minimal charges)

The University of California, San Diego, offers a number of free, year-round pleasures for community residents and visitors to enjoy on its 1,200 acres of coastal woodland. Visitors are invited to participate in activities such as listening to a talking tree or attending a student cabaret performance; touring a supercomputer center or visiting a number of gallery exhibits. All free.

JOIN A TOUR
The UCSD Visitors Program offers 90-minute walking tours--cooled by ocean breezes and shade trees--of the UCSD campus at 2 p.m. on the second, fourth and fifth Sunday of each month. A mini-bus tour is available at 2 p.m. the first and third Sundays of the month, with wheelchair accessibility on request. Tour guides provide information on the history and unique features of the campus. Reservations are necessary and may be made online by visiting our registration site or by calling 858 534-4414. For more information visit our campus tours web site.

PICNIC AT "STONEHENGE"
The Stuart Collection of outdoor sculpture on the UCSD campus is world-famed for its unique collection of site-specific works by leading contemporary artists. The collection ranges from Richard Fleischner's La Jolla Project of stone architectural forms on a sweeping green lawn, fondly referred to as "Stonehenge" by students, to Elizabeth Murray's 12-foot bright Red Shoe hidden in a eucalyptus grove. There's Alexis Smith's 560-foot long Snake Path winding downhill from a terrace at Geisel Library; Niki de Saint Phalle's Sun God, which has become a place of celebration for students; Terry Allen's Trees, including a talking tree, a music tree and a silent tree, and some nine other sculptures. For a self-guided tour, pick up a guide book at the Gilman Information Pavilion. For group tours of 15 or more, call 858 534-2117.

MEET THE CAT IN THE HAT
The Geisel Library, which contains the world's largest Dr. Seuss original materials in its Special Collections section, offers changing exhibits year-round for the public to view. These may range from manuscripts of 20th century scientists, to a poetry collection, to Spanish Civil War posters. The public may study and use books in the library; takeout is by membership card. And if a break from books is needed, the top floor of the library is open for dramatic views of San Diego County from ocean to mountains. Call 858 534-3336 for information.

BEAM INTO THE FUTURE
The San Diego Supercomputer Center offers public tours for groups up to 20 every Friday. The 45-minute tours include a visit through the supercomputer room and visualization lab and a talk on the history of the center, its capabilities, and current research projects. Free parking is available. Call 858 534-5000 for reservations.

RETRACE HISTORY
At UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the national historic Old Scripps Building, built in 1910 and designed by San Diego architect Irving Gill, is open one day a year for free public tours. For information on the date call 858 534-3624. The public may use the SIO library; for information on hours call 858 534-3336.

VIEW ART
The University Art Gallery exhibits a number of shows during the academic year, focusing on contemporary art. In the past 20 years the gallery has exhibited the works of both known and emerging artists--faculty, local and from around the world. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; check for limited summer hours. Call 858 534-2864. The Mandeville Annex Gallery shows the work of undergraduate Visual Arts students during the academic year, noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call 858 534-2252. The Visual Arts Graduate Gallery displays the work of graduate students and is open during the academic year, noon to 5 p.m. Call 858 534-2862.

CATCH NEW CRAFTS
The Grove Gallery features exhibitions of various crafts, including sculptures, neon, glass, jewelry and pottery, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Call 858 534-2021.

ATTEND A PLAY
The UCSD Theatre Department offers a number of free, student cabaret performances throughout the year. Call 858 534-3793 for a quarterly schedule. Also, free admission for performance ushers is available, 858 534-3793 for information.

HEAR MUSICAL WORKS
The UCSD Music Department offers a number of free concerts and recitals, including--twice a year--graduate composition students presenting new works in New Music Forums, and graduate performance students presenting a variety of works from all periods in the Performers Forum. Once a quarter undergraduate performance students offer a variety of works from all periods, and at the end of each quarter recitals are given by voice, piano, violin and viola students. For information call 858 534-4830.

BROWSE BOOKS
The UCSD Bookstore, largest in San Diego County, offers more than 150,000 titles for the public, as well as students and faculty, to browse through. Free author events are offered every month during which authors--volleyball players to philosophers--discuss literature and autograph their books. The bookstore also contains the largest Dr. Seuss shop in San Diego. Call 858 534-7323.

BE A SPORTS SPECTATOR
UCSD sponsors a 23-sport intercollegiate athletic program that competes at the NCAA Division II level. Free admission is available for the public to watch the following sports: baseball, softball, soccer, track & field, cross country, fencing, tennis, golf, crew, water polo and swimming. For schedules and additional information about Triton sports, call 858 534-4211 or visit their web site.

LISTEN TO LECTURES
A wide variety of free public lectures is available, call 858 534-UCSD NOTE: Although the above listed activities are free, there is a $3 UCSD parking fee during the week. Weekend parking is free.

OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST

PARTICIPATE IN PECK'S LEGACY
Located on the UCSD campus, the La Jolla Playhouse--founded by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer--has received critical acclaim for its innovative productions of new plays, musicals and classics. The Playhouse consists of two not-for-profit, professional theaters, with a third under construction. The Playhouse occupies the theaters from May to October, while UCSD has primary access during the winter academic period. La Jolla Playhouse was the first theater in the U.S. to offer tickets to each production on a pay-what-you-can basis. Additionally, unsold tickets are obtainable during "public rush" 10 minutes before curtain for $10 each. Student groups can purchase $10 tickets during preview performances. The Playhouse also offers military, senior and student discounts. Box office information is available at 858 550 1070, or call the Education and Outreach Department, 858 550-1070.

SHARE SEAWATER ACTIVITY
Opened in 1992, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps features three main interpretive areas: the Hall of Fishes, with 33 tanks, the largest being 70,000 gallons; the Hall of Oceanography, the largest display on oceanographic sciences in the country; and an outdoor plaza with a demonstration tide pool and discovery station. In keeping with the aquarium's historic commitment to science education, two seawater-equipped classrooms adjoin the public display areas. The hilltop site provides a spectacular overview of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus and the Pacific. Exhibits in the museum offer a window on global research projects being conducted in the SIO laboratories and at sea with the Scripps fleet. The aquarium displays, now expanded to include a gallery on tropical marine habitats, interpret local organisms in the context of the Pacific at large. The aquarium is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years days. Admission is $8.50 adults; $7.50 seniors; $5 kids 3-17, two and under free. Call 858 534-FISH for information.

EXPERIENCE AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIMENT
The Preuss School, located on the east UCSD campus, is the only public charter school in the state to be established on a university campus with private donations and capital. The school opened at UCSD in the fall of 1999 with 150 sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, and now totals 765 sixth through 12th graders in its $13 million dollar cluster of buildings. Mission of the Preuss School is to prepare low income and educationally underserved students for admission to and graduation from a university. The school has a longer school day, longer class periods and a longer school year than is traditional. Visitors are welcome by making advance reservations with the Office of the Principal, 858 658-7404.