The place: Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center in Carlsbad.
Passers-by see this Spanish-style building boldly standing before the lagoon and cannot help but stop in.
Inside, the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center offers activities for kids, informative displays, local creatures and views of the lagoon. One of the first attractions visitors come across inside is the touch tank, which features anemones, a sea cucumber, sea stars and muscles. There are tanks and cages with fish, snails, a hermit crab and a bat star that can be found in the lagoon.
In the center of the main room is an archaeological dig area for children. Near several pictures of local birds is a nest display, which includes homes of hornets, wasps, owls, woodpeckers and herons.
The Kid’s Corner room has books, crayons and paper for the creative tykes.
The hallway to the immediate right of the entrance has displays of the Native Americans, the Luiseños, who lived in the Agua Hedionda Lagoon area. Visitors can find rock slicks, baskets, pipes and jewelry they made. The nearby land has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years.
The discovery center stands before the 400-acre lagoon that is tucked within Carlsbad, a little more than a mile east of the ocean. The lagoon is home to 70 species of fish, 20 species of amphibians/reptiles, 25 species of mammals, 192 types of birds, 175 species of invertebrates and 100 types of plants. This lagoon, one of three in Carlsbad, is part of Pacific flyway (the migration path taken by birds along the West Coast.)
Two trails border the lagoon: the Hubbs Trail and the Discovery Center Trail. The Hubbs Trail is about a half-mile long and runs along the northern, outer edge of the lagoon. The Discovery Center Trail is about a quarter-mile long and lies on the southeastern edge part of the lagoon, which is primarily upland marshland.
The Carlsbad Garden Club grooms the outside of the discovery center, taking care of the flowers, plants and bird feeders that surround the building. Visitors will find plaques around the building that provide information about the wildlife and history of the area.
Where: 1580 Cannon Road, Carlsbad
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; closed Mondays
Cost: Free; donations accepted
Information: (760) 804-1969;
Amanda Strouse is a freelance writer from Encinitas.