Overnight Trip Offered to Catalina

An overnight scientific observation and collecting expedition to Catalina Island aboard the 90-foot Shogun will be sponsored by the Cabrillo Marine Museum on Friday.

“Catalina--Above and Below,� will depart at 11 p.m. from San Pedro and return about 6 p.m. Saturday. Events include plankton gathering, kelp sampling for hidden marine life and attempts to attract sharks, squid and other marine life to the surface for observing.

Participants will also go ashore at the isthmus for a guided geology walk on the island. Museum marine biologists, geologists and naturalists will be on board to answer questions and identify marine life.

Space is limited and reservations are required. Call (310) 548-7563.

ASTRONOMY

“Venus Unveiled,� the new planetarium program at Griffith Observatory, will examine the evening star of the western autumn sky and the unfolding mystery of the closest planet to Earth in the planetarium theater daily, except Mondays. Call (213) 664-1191 for show times.

Santa Monica College Planetarium director Jonathon Hodge will examine the question of whether other stars have planetary systems in “Other Stars, Other Planets� in Room 214 of the Art Building on Friday at 8 p.m., after the Night Sky Show at 7 p.m. Call (310) 452-9223. For tickets call (310) 452-9396.

Fred Adams, physics professor at the University of Michigan, will discuss “The Theory of Star Formation� at Caltech’s Astronomy Research Conference Colloquium on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Room 201 East Bridge. Call (818) 356-4652.

HEALTH/MEDICINE

Operating room nurses from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will demonstrate state-of-the-art operating room technologies in a salute to National Operating Room Nurses Week at Farmers Market on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (310) 855-4933.

A community education seminar on “Healthy Moms/Healthy Babies,� covering such topics as common changes mothers might expect during pregnancy, fetal development and nutrition advice, will be offered at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood on Saturday at 10 a.m. Preregistration is required; call (800) 356-2824.

GEOLOGY

The ancient sedimentary rock layers, fossils and evolution of the Santa Monica Mountains will be explored by paleontologist John Alderson in a class offered by the Wilderness Institute on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (818) 791-7327.

SCIENCE FOR KIDS

Environmental Awareness Month continues at Kidspace Museum in Pasadena with a workshop for children ages 6 and older on the beach environment Wednesday at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, children ages 5 and older can learn about the importance of trees in workshops at 2 and 3:30 p.m. Call (818) 449-9144.