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Rob_Hugo@PortNWSo cool, though it seems that the house itself needed some repairing. The stones from the Eel River, known as "the American Jade" were beautiful along with the bonsi trees. The art of detail, just when you think there cannot be anymore detail, leave it to the Japanese. After I got back all I wanted to do was to design small little plots and drink green tea along with other delicious beverages, really.
AnonymousThe trip to the Japanese and Chinese Gardens at the Huntington have inspired a much deserved field trip!
AnonymousForget taking your students to the Japanese/Chinese Gardens at the Huntington as they only allow 40 students. We teachers with 5 classes of students couldn't pick and choose that easily, especially if the students were underprivledged. Person in charge of fieldtrips not very helpful or friendly.
AnonymousAs a special education teacher, I don't think a field trip to the Japanese Gardens is special needs friendly; esp., for those who are mobile challenged.
AnonymousI want to make another comment about the Japanese Gardens. First of all, I think Miranda did a terrific job and I appreciate her for setting that up for us. However, I don't think it is a good place for a field trip. The first time I went was for Professional Development -- Buy Back Day. That was an excellent opportunity to see if this would be a potential field trip site. If you think that you may want to do this as a school field trip, don't take word of mouth -- see for yourself. Though the Japanese Gardens is beautiful, peaceful, interesting, educational, etc., it can be physically demanding on the body -- at least it was for me. It can also be expensive for the students depending on what provisions are made for lunch and any other expenses.
AnonymousI found the Japanese Garden which was complete with a traditional Japanese house, and serene Zen garden to be lovely. Both the Chinese and the Japanese Gardens were a mixture of an extensive array of beautiful plants, culturally specific stonework and just the sights and the sounds of actually being transported to gardens in that part of the world.
AnonymousToday, my oldest son and I took a little sojourn to the Japanese Gardens located right in the heart of Van Nuys! I was pleasantly surprised. They have a dry garden (Zen Garden) and a wet garden with a beautiful waterfall in the center. They have 3 (maybe more) types of stone lanterns which are light at night. I noticed three types of bridges, one was a sort of zig-zag and the other two were traditional Japanese bridges. They have a small house that is strictly for the tea ceremony with the traditional contemplative scroll and flower arrangement at the entrance. Beautiful trees such as Bonsai, peach, cherry blossom and many others. They have places to eat and it seems to be somewhat handicapped accessible. This would be a great location for school field-trips, however the person I was to talk to was not there, will inquire and get back to you all.
Admission is 3$ and the address is 6100 Woodley Ave. Van Nuys, CA. Call 818 756-8166 for information. Great Place, Enjoy!
AnonymousToday, as I was contemplating taking a nap on my sofa, I looked at a framed photo of my youngest son, Parker, standing in the middle of a bamboo forest looking quite happy. I then thought back to where and when the photo was taken and thought I should share this excellent spot. Parker and I were at the botanical gardens at UCLA. He was doing some project on leaves or nature and that's where we ended up. It just so happens that UCLA is my Alma mater and that after graduating with three degrees I worked at the University for two years before I moved on to teaching. The gardens are in the south campus area, hidden behind the school of dentistry.
From what I remember they had an extensive part of the gardens dedicated to Asia. Besides the bamboo forests, they had Koi Ponds, Japanese style brides and trees, not only from the Asian part of the world, but from every other part too. As I said the botanical gardens are in the south campus, they are sufficiently fortified so you don't hear the noise from Hilgard Ave. It is quiet and serene without a lot of people traffic.
This would be a great place to take high-school special education students. After visiting or eating lunch in the garden you can trek up to the north campus to the sculpture gardens where everything is hands on. All of the foliage at UCLA is marked by a stamp out of iron that lets you know where every tree and exotic bush is from. I suggest having your students feel the different types of barks and writing a journal as to what tree they liked the best and so on. Make sure to bring cameras! The campus is very visitor friendly, but I don't think a lot of people know about the botanical gardens; it's something not to be missed! Makes me think that there is a little Taoist in me no matter how much I like room service! Enjoy!!