Lompoc Visitors Guide

Lompoc Valley Visitors Guide 14 ium also holds a 5-day youth Summer Camp each year. Free Open Houses for the general public are held roughly once a month throughout the school year. For dates and details about upcoming Open Hous- es, please visit www.cabrilloaquarium.org or call (805) 742-2888. Additional information can also be found on the Aquarium Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts; or by emailing Aquarium Director Greg Eisen at eisen.greg@lusd.org. The Cabrillo High School Aquarium, its students, and its teachers have received many honors and recognitions over the past thirty-four years. In 1999, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration (NOAA) awarded the Cabrillo High School Aquarium with the prestigious NOAA Environmental Hero Award. Due in part to this recognition, Scott Gudes, Deputy Undersecretary of NOAA, invited three student curators from the Aquarium to meet with NOAA and Justice Department officials in Washington, DC. Gudes is quoted as saying, “I can only compare what you have done (at the Aquarium) to the yellow brick road in ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ No- body’s ever taken this journey in the direction you folks are taking it. What you’ve created is special. I’ve not seen anything like it before.” Partnerships and hands-on learning are what this marine facility is all about. There are over seven- ty-five partnerships with the business community, industrial community, students, staff, and local ex - perts. The project started in an empty room, with one student, one teacher, and one community partner. Due to the Aquarium staff and students’ hard work and their collaborative efforts with partners such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, NOAA, County of San- ta Barbara, Channel Islands National Marine Sanc- tuary, Vandenberg Air Force Base, UCSB REEF, Aquaria Inc., Titan Aquatics, Coralife, Aquacraft Inc., Central Aquatics, Tenji Design + Build, Inklings Printing, Cabinets Etc., Conception Tile, and the US Penitentiary – Lompoc; the program has grown and developed to where it is today. The Aquarium is located at 4350 Constellation Road, Lompoc CA 93436. Population City Limits: 44,200 County: 416,700 City plus adjacent areas including VAFB: 67,400 Occupied households - City: 13,836 Occupied households - adjacent area (excluding VAFB): 7,064 Geography The Valley is part of the central California coastal region. Rolling hills surround the Lompoc Valley on the north, south & east. The level Valley is open at its western end to the Pacific Coast shoreline. The Santa Ynez River (dry most of the year) runs east to west through the Valley. Burton Mesa to the north is a chaparral forest, with sandy soil. The hills to the south are mined for diatomaceous (fossil) earth. The Lompoc Valley enjoys worldwide acclaim as the "Valley of the Flowers." Elevation is 88 Feet above mean sea level. LOMPOC COMMUNITY PROFILE