star eco station

review by yucaree

if you're looking to see some wild animals locally (in a safe environment), the eco station may be a fun excursion for your little one. hidden in a warehouse-y building on jefferson boulevard, the eco station takes care of rescued wild animals and strives to educate children and parents on the proper way to treat animals and the environment, and the improrieties of keeping wild animals as pets and the dangers posed by humans on endangered animals.

the animals are only viewable by guided tour, which leaves the lobby every half hour. the tour lasts about an hour to an hour and a half. the guide will take you around to see the fish, wild cats, reptiles and birds, and the kids are allowed to touch some of the reptiles while being supervised by the guide.

Cost: $7 adult, $5 children, infants in strollers free

Strollers: there is ample room to manuever your stroller through the facility. you may also consider taking your baby in a carrier so he/she can see the animals.

Diaper changing: to be honest i didn't check the bathrooms to see if there was a changing table. i'm sure if you call they can tell you. there are conference/party rooms throughout the tour that you could stop to change your baby's diaper either on the floor or in their stroller.

Breastfeeding: because it's a tour there's really no place to stop and breastfeed. the lobby is tiny and has no adult-size chairs where you can breastfeed inconspicuously.

Parking: the lot behind the building has very limited parking. many of the spots are for nearby businesses and they specifically say not to park there if you're visiting the eco station. there are two metered spots on jefferson in front of the building (the entrance to the building is in the back). we parked two blocks away at culver city park for free.

some things i noticed: it's quite warm inside the building (i don't know if it's for the animals but it seems there is no a/c) so you may want to dress down your children. also, the last room is the bird room and it is loud! the birds' squawking is extremely loud, especially if more than one bird is "talking." please cover your baby's ears. my personal opinion is that, although interesting, this may be the kind of place that you visit once or twice. unlike a zoo, where you can watch the animals at your own pace, the guided tour (which, at times, can feel like being lectured at, to be honest) would be repetitive and restrictive if you visited often.

lastly, if you're interested in getting a turtle, they adopt out red-eared slider turtles that have been left at the eco station. (and here's something i learned: it's illegal to get a red-eared slider turtle that's less than four inches long.)

STAR ECO STATION
10101 Jefferson Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
310-842-8060