10 am – 5 pm Tuesday
through Sunday, except major holidays. Confirm before going!
A gem within the city of Hemet is the Western Science Center. When excavation for the Diamond Valley Lake Reservoir took place, major archaeological finds required dating and preservation. The science center was part of an effort to provide appropriate handling, collection and storage of irreplaceable artifacts dating back to the Ice Age. The effort of building this reservoir was not without controversy considering the size and scope of the project, and the unearthing of significant artifacts.
The largest mastodon found in the western U.S. Columbian mammoth named Xena is also housed in the world class facility that houses nearly one million specimens and fossils uncovered in the lake area.
Exhibits include: Life on Earth Timeline in a 156 foot
open-air corridor where time rings guide you through the geologic time
periods.
The Big Dam Hole history of Diamond Valley Lake.
Postcards from the Past includes artifacts created and used by
the earlier Native American residents.
Circular Theater - short films shown regularly on a
270-degree screen.
Snapshots in Time features mammoths and mastodons that used to
live in the Diamond Valley Lake area:
• A 10ft tall mastodon, nicknamed Max
• A 12ft. tall mammoth, nicknamedXena,
• And a giant ground sloth nearly 7ft. tall.
Discovery Lab explores discovery sites and the tools of the trade that
archaeologists use in the field.
Big Picture is about Diamond and Domenigoni Valleys from present
day to thousands of years ago.