Things
You Must See and Do . . . Big Bear is home to several
special attractions due to the unique
qualities of the
area. The Big Bear Discovery Center is operated cooperatively
by the U.S. Forest Service and San Bernardino National
Forest Association. The Discovery Center serves as a template
for other interpretive centers across the country and is
the " . . . Gateway to Adventure and Discovery in
the Great Outdoors". Guests visit the center for
naturalist-led interpretive programs, evening nature lectures,
hiking information and to view the changing exhibits which
include every thing from native animals to fire prevention.
Tours on foot or by canoe are available for the more adventuresome
providing opportunities to learn about waterfowl, aquatic
and animal life. The Adventure Outpost is an onsite retail
store which offers one-of-a-kind gifts.
Also
unique to Big Bear is the Moonridge Zoo, a 2.5 acre facility
for
animals wounded in the wilderness. The area
fires of 1959 brought about the need to house injured
animals that could be treated and returned to the forest.
Some
of the animals, however, would never heal sufficiently
enough to allow their release. For those healthy but
non-releasable birds and animals, the Moonridge Zoo became
their protective
new home, and the Moonridge Animal Park was "born".
At least 200 injured wild birds and animals are treated
annually at the park, and the majority are rehabilitated
and released back into the wild. The Friends of the Moonridge
Zoo (FOMZ) was established in 1989 as a non-profit organization.
It is dedicated to supporting Park improvements and providing
opportunities to learn about wildlife. The Moonridge
Animal Park is evolving into the Living Forest Wildlife
Center.
Expansion efforts are currently underway.
The
Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) takes advantage of
the excellent
climatic conditions of the area to study
the Sun. The observatory is located in the middle of
the
lake to reduce image distortion, and turbulent motions
in the air are also reduced by the smooth flow of the
wind across the lake. These conditions, combined with
the usually
cloudless skies over Big Bear Lake and the clarity
of the air at this elevation, make the observatory a
premier
site
for solar observations. The observatory was built by
the California Institute of Technology in 1969. Management
of the observatory and an array of solar radio telescopes
were transferred to the New Jersey Institute of Technology
in 1997. Funding for the operation is from the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National
Science Foundation (NSF), the United States Air Force,
the United States Navy, and other agencies. Tours of
the
BBSO are available in the summer.
No
trip to Big Bear is complete without a visit to the Big
Bear Valley Historical
Museum. The museum has
many
exhibits that begin with the Indian period and include
an 1875 log cabin, gold mining artifacts, cattle
ranching and lumbering exhibits, and many other historical
artifacts.
