What if the Little Mermaid never needed legs to explore the human world — just curiosity and a free afternoon in Los Angeles?
Unfamiliarity is inevitable in the vast city of LA. Especially if you’re still adapting to a college lifestyle and feeling new to the area, it’s easy to feel confined to the same three places. College teaches you how to move fast, but it rarely shows you where to rest. It’s difficult to find a sense of belonging in a place you don’t really know. However, with the eagerness to explore, you’re ready to discover anything.
The California Science Center’s Ecosystems exhibit features a variety of zones. Each zone has something new to discover and many interactive exhibits to explore. Many machines are hands-on, such as a hurricane simulator that blows wind up to 75 mph and a huge ice wall to feel the freezing temperatures of the poles. However, the aquarium — arguably the heart of the experience — captures this excitement best.
Walking in doesn’t feel like entering a science center so much as stepping into an open sea. There’s no velvet rope, no ticket booth standing guard, just open doors inviting guests to wander in as the quiet thrill of discovery awaits inside.
In the Kelp Forest exhibit, everything flows into one another the way nature does. Families drift from tank to tank, kids press their noses to the glass, the water throws ripples of light onto the walls and shines rainbows onto our faces and suddenly everyone looks a little bit enchanted. In a healthy ecosystem, there’s room for every kind of life — and this aquarium understands that.
Here, jellyfish float with grace and no urgency.
Sleek fish flash purple and blue, darting with purpose.
You don’t just look at these habitats, you move through them and become immersed in the life of the natural world. It’s the kind of movement that makes you feel present in the moment, especially when so much of college life is spent rushing between classes, commitments, expectations and the quiet pressure to have everything figured out. It’s easy to resonate with Ariel when she wished she could be a “part of that world” because here, you already are.
What makes the aquarium especially astounding is its accessibility. Admission to the California Science Center is free, which fundamentally changes the energy of the space. There’s no pressure to get your money’s worth because the knowledge you gain from science shouldn’t be a luxury. Instead, it feels like a shared safe space where science belongs to everyone and the only ticket required is one’s curiosity. The open layout allows visitors to explore at their own pace, going back and forth to their favorite tank or lingering as long as they want — and don’t be afraid to visit the other exhibits too!
The science center is full of impactful beauty, which is seen through reflections rippling across glass tanks, silhouettes of visitors against glowing exhibits and the laughter from engaging with the interactive machines. These images tell the same story the exhibits do – that science is alive, shared and deeply human.
Amidst studying for exams, trying to be involved on campus, finding your people and battling impostor syndrome, your whole world could feel very hectic and chaotic. Ariel believed she had to change herself to belong somewhere new. College can feel like that too because you may feel the need to become better, smarter, more accomplished or more “put together” to earn your place. However, the aquarium opens up a new perspective. Every creature exists as it is, moving at its own pace, taking up space without apology because they simply belong there. So, find time for yourself and take a break. There is a whole world out there waiting for you to explore, and the California Science Center gives you a glance.
