Public television’s Huell Howser highlights UC Davis’ attractions
On a bright, sunny day in May, TV travel guide Huell Howser and a videographer visited the UC Davis campus, crisscrossing our 5,300 acres in search of the best attractions open to the public.
The result of that visit is an hour-long show to be broadcast throughout the summer on at least four PBS stations. The Road Trip with Huell Howser segment dedicated exclusively to UC Davis is scheduled to premiere at 8 p.m., Thursday, July 12, on Sacramento's KVIE-TV (Channel 6).
If you'd like to visit the same places that Howser did, here's a tour guide :
Campus showing
The Aggie community is invited to an outdoor showing of the program that TV travel guide Huell Howser put together. [more…]
Howser’s visit
When TV travel guide Huell Howser comes a-calling, there is little doubt how he will react to all the neat things you show him: “That’s ah-mazing.” [more…]
UC Davis Arboretum
Open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Established in 1936, the arboretum occupies about 100 acres along the banks of the old north channel of Putah Creek and measures nearly two miles long.
It is home to, among other things, the Shields Oak Grove, which contains the largest collection of mature oaks in the Southwestern United States — 346 trees representing 89 types of oak species, varieties and hybrids, some of which are rare and endangered. The grove includes species from around the world but is particularly rich in Western North American and Mediterranean oaks.
The arboretum is also home to a memorial grove of redwood trees, Mediterranean and desert collections and the new Arboretum Terrace Garden and Lois Crowe Patio at the Davis Commons shopping center.
For more information: UC Davis Arboretum Web site or (530) 752-4880.
Bohart Museum of Entomology
Open to the public 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The Bohart Museum is North America's seventh largest insect collection overall and third largest among universities. This museum houses the research insect collection for the Department of Entomology. It is also home to the highly popular display of live Madagascar hissing cockroaches.
For more information: Bohart Museum of Entomology Web site or (530) 752-0493. To schedule tours or borrow displays: (530) 752-0493.
"Bicycle Capital of the U.S."
Davis, both the city and the campus, has earned that name because of efforts to provide its thousands of pedalers with a "bicycle friendly" environment.
Wide streets, well-marked bike lanes, inviting pathways, gentle terrain, mild climate, and an attitude of mutual respect between cyclists and motorists have resulted in a community with the most bikes per capita of any in the nation.
The campus is home to two biannual UC Davis bike auctions that take place in the fall and spring quarters.
At the center of all this activity is the campus Bike Barn, housed in an old dairy barn and one of the nation's busiest bike repair facilities, performing more than 10,000 repairs a year. The Bike Barn is open to the public 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information: Bike Barn Web site or (530) 752-2575.
Segundo Dining Commons
Open to the public seven days a week during meal times (times vary during the summer months). The 46,000-square-foot Segundo dining room, open in 2005, was built along the lines of a quality food court in a fine shopping mall: stations with freshly prepared foods and all you can eat.
All the food is "recycled" in some way: If the quality of the food still meets standards, chefs try to utilize it somehow in the next day's recipes. Extra food also goes to the Yolo County Food Bank.
In addition, the student group Project Compost collects pre-consumer compost such as banana peels and orange rinds that have not hit the plate.
And the milk you drink comes from Davis' own herd of cows — sort of. Crystal Dairy in Sacramento buys our campus milk, and Sodexho buys all dairy products from Crystal Dairy.
Segundo Dining Room is one of the newest and most fascinating dining venues to reach a university campus. The dining room serves approximately 2,200 meals a day. It's like having eight restaurants under one roof.
For more information: Segundo Dining Commons Web site or (530) 752-0135.
Coffee House
Open to the public generally Monday through Friday, mid-morning to early evening (check the Web site for current operating hours).
The Coffee House, located in the Memorial Union, is believed to be the largest student-run restaurant in the nation. Established in 1967 by the Associated Students of the University of California at Davis, the Coffee House today operates as a $3.5 million-a-year retail operation staffed by four full-time career employees and more than 240 student employees.
These student employees are responsible for a plethora of daily activities - from creating the food for the menu from scratch, washing dishes, cashiering and providing customer service to more than 6,000 customers per day (Monday through Thursday; fewer on Friday and the weekend).
Approximately 40 part-time supervisors are responsible for daily and weekend oversight and report to six student managers, while the full-time staff oversees all aspects of the operation, including annual budgeting, menu and recipe development, training, marketing, customer service, and the hiring of approximately 100 new employees each year.
For more information: Coffee House Web site or (530) 752-6622.
Animal Science Horse Barn
Open to the public 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Horse Barn has been a mainstay of UC Davis since its foundation in the early 1900s. Beginning as a carriage house for draft horses and mules, it later became the site for a successful thoroughbred breeding operation in the 1930s.
Recently, the barn become home to a promising American Quarter Horse and American Paint Horse breeding operation. Using the Horse Barn, the animal science department strives to educate its students about all aspects of equine reproduction via hands-on experiences.
For more information: Department of Animal Science Horse Barn Web site or (530) 754-4156 and (530) 752-1684.
C.N. Gorman Museum
Open to the public noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Established in 1973, the museum is named in honor of co-founding Native American Studies faculty member Carl Gorman, the first faculty member to teach Native American art, beginning in 1969. The museum is housed within the Native American studies department in 1316 Hart Hall.
The collection emphasizes basketry and artwork from the local region but the museum's exhibitions emphasize indigenous art from throughout the Western Hemisphere and beyond.
For more information: C.N. Gorman Museum Web site or (530) 752-6567.
Unitrans
The student-run Unitrans bus system provides public transportation service to the entire city with more than 40 buses on 15 routes, carrying more than 3 million passengers a year.
All Unitrans drivers and supervisors, as well as most support staff, are UC Davis students working part time.
And Unitrans is well-known for its fleet of historic London double-decker buses. These double-decker buses run on four lines (B, E, F and G) in regular service during the academic year.
For more information: Unitrans or (530) 752- 2877.
California Raptor Center
Open to the public 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, as well as during special events on certain weekends.
The California Raptor Center is dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned raptors. It receives more than 250 injured or ill raptors each year and is able to release back into the wild more than 60 percent of these birds.
The center provides hands-on training in the care and management of birds of prey and provides educational programs to the general public and the university community.
For more information: California Raptor Center or (530) 752-6091.
These nine attractions filled the hour-long TV show, but if you still have the time and the energy, here are a few more sites worth seeing at UC Davis:
The Robert Arneson Eggheads
A native of Benicia, Robert Arneson taught ceramic sculpture at UC Davis for four decades and was at the forefront of a movement, called "California Funk," that took ceramic art in a new direction.
In the meantime, Arneson developed an international reputation and his art can be found in private and public collections around the world.
His seven Egghead sculptures were created for specific campus locations and were installed during 1991-94.
To take a self-guided walking tour, see: Egghead tour.
UC Davis Botanical Conservatory
Open to the public, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Founded in 1959, the conservatory is a 3,600-square-foot complex that serves UC Davis and the surrounding community as an educational facility, research resource and genetic diversity preserve.
It houses more than 3,000 species in more than 150 plant families, including examples from most of the world's climatic regions.
For more information: UC Davis Botanical Conservatory or (530) 752-0569.
UC Davis Meat Lab
Open to the public 1-5 p.m. Thursday through Friday.
The Meat Lab is a federally inspected meat processing plant and retail butcher shop located on campus. Part of the Department of Animal Science, it is used for teaching and research activities.
The 5,000-square-foot facility contains a multi-species kill floor, carcass coolers, processing room, cutting room, analytical lab, classroom and freezers. The annual production level is approximately 600-800 total head of all four red-meat species, which includes beef, hogs, sheep and goats.
The lab also processes carcasses into extra-lean ground beef, homemade pork sausage and other retail meat products. Custom-cut and wrapped-beef, hog and lamb carcasses can be ordered from the Meat Lab.
For more information: Meat Lab or (530) 752-7410.