the discovery Campus

Color pages featuring our Animal Ambassadors, read books about nature, play with toys, and touch real dinosaur bones! With so much to explore this is the perfect place to take a break and get creative.

Meet some of the smaller creatures that share our planet, bugs!  These spineless wonders have important jobs, unique adaptations, and interesting ways of life.  Learn all about these fascinating creatures and see them up close!  All of the animals currently living in Invertebrate Island are species that can be found in our local regions, from the coast to the deserts.

Photographic exhibition. This beautiful display of local wildlife photos features over 20 different species of birds that were photographed at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Some are year-round residents while others visit the Lagoon to eat and rest while on their annual migratory journey. In addition, we also have bird nest replicas from over 6 types of birds!

Learn all about the Agua Hedionda Lagoon and the Discovery Campus dating back to 5000 BC.

Learn about the history of Robert Kelly, an émigré from the Isle of Mann who traveled across the United States and ended up in San Diego.

Out in Mayor Matt Hall Hill, young explorers can become certified "Awesome Archaeologists" by finding and identifying 9 different artifacts including dinosaur bones!

Featuring three salt water aquariums; these tanks exhibit species native to the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

Visitors always enjoy browsing through our extensive California Native Plant Garden and accompanying colorful and informative interpretive signage. In partnership with Greg Rubin, owner of California's Own Native Landscape Design, the AHLF is proud to host the premiere native plant garden in North San Diego County. Our landscape is comprised of more than 800 native plants featuring over 60 different species. We have extensive interpretive signage in both the front and rear portions of the Center's grounds. Visitors are welcome to roam through the grounds and learn about the ecology and ethnobotany of California's native flora.

Explore the ecology of the lagoon through visual, verbal and physical descriptions. Thanks to the North County Board Association's efforts, the column provides a clear representation of the how the lagoon function layer by layer. This exhibit demonstrates the importance of wetlands to many animal species and how our daily action can harm or help the lagoon. Ever wondered what lives in the bottom of the lagoon? Come visit the Column of Life to find out.

Check out our Observation Bee-Aquarium built by local Eagle Scout, Branden Lintner with the guidance of The Encinitas Bee Company. You will see the inner workings of a bee hive through the outdoor paned exhibit and watch the bees busily working. 

Aquaponics is the combination of Aquaculture (raising fish) with Hydroponics (growing plants without soil). The grow bed acts as a bio-filter that converts the ammonia in fish waste into a nitrate food that the plants can use. The product grown feeds critters at the Discovery Campus offering a teaching tool, and sustainable food option. 

The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation has two living walls on display. Living walls provide a beauitful, sustainable decoration that improves the atmosphere of the area that it is installed in.

Easily recognizable, the "tire snake" begins the Discovery Campus's 1/4 mile trail down to the Agua Hedionda marshland. Modeled after a California King Snake, the sculpture also serves as a perfect marker for your family's scenic photo op!

Come visit our guinea pigs, Petunia and Dolly and Holland Lop Bunny, Cupcake. Their home is located inside the Discovery Center where guests will have the chance to hold and pet them while learning more about their personalities .

Installed in the Spring of 2019, the pollinator path features beautifully crafted mosaic stepping stones by the Don Myers Foundation with the help of volunteers from the San Dieguito United Methodist Church. Encompassing the area to the South of the Discovery Center, present plant species include varieties of milkweed and yarrow providing breeding grounds for many pollinators including the infamous Monarch Butterfly. In the summer of 2019 we saw observed hundred's monarch caterpillars and three chrysalis' formed and emerged on the installed wood railings. 

The Discovery Campus animal ambassadors are ready to meet you in our reptile city exhibit! Although most are reptiles including bearded dragons, snakes, geckos, turtles, tortoises and more, we do have a few insects, amphibians and crustaceans as well.

Explore the brand new Fairyland Exhibit at Learning Island. Fairyland features an array of succulents provided by the Succulent Café in Carlsbad, Carlsbad Village Fairy’s very own fairy doors, and a sprinkle of imagination. We thank AHLF Board Member Chris Crespo, for envisioning this new exhibit.

Created in honor of the Sanders Tech-Ed Foundation, where funding was provided,  Tortoise Terrace II is an outdoor oasis for our 3 tortoises, Tammy, Leo, and Spikey, to call home. 

On April 22, 2006 (Earth Day) our first major exhibit was open to the public. This exhibit, entitled the Luiseno History and Cultural Exhibit, is the result of a collaborative effort between CSU-San Marcos and the San Luis Rey Band of Luiseño Indians. The exhibit includes photographs and displays featuring various aspects of the  Luiseño culture, with an emphasis on the critical role that native plants played in the Native American lifestyle.

Our 6 hens are full of love and personality! They love treats, being pet, and running around. Come say hi to Ms. Wyatt, Savanna, PB, Lucy, Clucky,and Maggie!

Meet Bingo, the Mini Pig! She quickly captures the hearts of everyone she encounters. At less than a year old, Bingo is full of energy and charm, making her a joy to be around. She absolutely loves people, relishes being petted, and can’t resist the delicious treats from the Bingo Bags, which are available for purchase inside. Come by and say hello to Bingo—she’s sure to brighten your day!

Guests are invited to explore the touch tank, where they can get up close and personal with a variety of fascinating marine creatures from the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Feel the unique textures of sea stars, limpets, and many other intriguing inhabitants of this vibrant ecosystem. It's a hands-on experience that offers a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diverse life forms that call the lagoon home. Dive into this interactive adventure and discover the wonders of the underwater world!

To alleviate fevers, headaches, toothaches and as a cold remedy; also as an aid in childbirth; has a legendary ability to halt the flow of blood. Cream-colored flowers are in 3- 4"clusters; native to the western U.S. and is drought and swamp tolerant; cottontails love to munch!

Many varied uses: soap and detergent, deodorant, as a salve for sores and burns, for relief of coughs, arthritis, fevers, flu, and even diaper rash! One of the most fragrant and colorful shrubs in California. Very drought tolerant, prefer very little water, vary in habitat from groundcover to trees.

One of the most sacred native plants for the Indian people. Used in ceremonies and as a cleansing herb. Also used for deodorant and shampoo. Medicinal uses: reduce eye irritation; alleviate colds, sore throat and chronic coughs; internal cleanser; as a salve for sores; for heart disorders; for measles and kidney troubles; as a bath for paralysis and earaches; treatment for epilepsy. Food uses: seeds ground into flour to make mush; as a spice for flavoring. Depending on the flora there are 17 to 18 sages native to California. Flowers range from pink, red, blue, purple and white. Sages are visited by hummingbirds, bumblebees, and wasps. (Hummingbirds kill for sages. They defend the sages in their territories like they are the only water in the desert.)

Ranks 2nd only to the oak trees in terms of important food source. It has been said that an acre of manzanita thicket would yield more nourishment to human life (if the berries were all plucked) then the best acre of wheat ever grown in California, after the expenses of cultivation. Berries used for food and drink; seeds ground into meal to make mush or cakes; used to treat maladies from diarrhea, to headaches and poison oak rashes. Makes an excellent groundcover and is great for a bird or butterfly garden. 43 different species in California.

The "Boss" of all medicines, used as "Life Medicine" by native peoples. Range of applications: for high blood pressure and hardening of arteries; as a salve for rashes and skin cuts; to alleviate coughs and colds; for rheumatism, sore mouths, aching joints and muscles; as a lotion for pimples; for head and stomach aches and general "female complaints." As food: seeds ground into mush or baked for bread. Wood used to pierce ears. The buckwheats are very important butterfly plants and one of the pillars of their communities. The flowers, leaves and seeds are all used by all the smaller animals.