Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology, 2345 Searl Parkway, Hemet, CA 92543 Call: (951) 791-0033.  www.westerncentermuseum.org

WOW! Hemet's Incredible New Museum!

A funny thing happened 10 years ago when the Metropolitan Water District started drilling 270-feet below the earth's surface to build Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. They found incredible mastodon bones and artifacts dating back more than 230,000 years. Now that's what you call a find!

Construction immediately stopped as an awed group of scientists rushed to the site to uncover and preserve these extremely rare Ice Age treasures before the lakebed was permanently flooded.

Some of their unbelievable findings (more than 1 million fossils and artifacts) are showcased in the new Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology at 2345 Searl Parkway, Hemet. (www.westerncentermuseum.org)

The 33,000-square-foot facility of fascination has a "Snapshots in Time" Main Gallery, featuring Max, the largest mastodon ever discovered in the Western United States (10-feet tall); Xena, a 12-foot-tall, 10,000-year-old mammoth and a 7-foot Giant Ground Sloth.

A 270-degree Immersion Theater in the Round is cleverly lined with simulated rock benches and features a Dolby Sound System. The floor is designed to shake at appropriate times, adding realism to the movies about dinosaurs and such.

The Discovery Lab has interactive displays, such as "The Dating Game," a hands-on experience about new ways to date fossils and artifacts.

At the Center, you will be in awe, peering down at a see-through floor over a recreated digsite with actual fossil bones of the great 50,000-year-old mastodon, "Little Stevie."

This most impressive museum, located in the San Jacinto Valley, is designed for Education, Research,
Exhibitions & Curations. Wonderful Native American artifacts and a 9,000-year-old piece of pottery add to the sensational surprises you'll see when you visit.

Be sure and continue your "awe" next door by stopping by the new Center for Water Education, funded in part by a $16 million grant from the Metropolitan Water District.