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Fun for all ages at the Interpretive Center at Clark Regional Park.
After temporary closure in April 2022, the Interpretive Center at Ralph B. Clark Regional Park in Buena Park has once again reopened to the public.
The Interpretive Center has offered visitors of all ages the chance to enjoy local history since its original opening in 1988. Since then, the center has displayed an array of fossils recovered within Clark Regional Park, northern Orange County’s Coyote Hills and other surrounding areas, as well as an exhibit about the archaeology and cultural traditions of the people who have called Orange County home for more than 10,000 years.
The Interpretive Center also contains a fishbowl lab where visitors can view how fossils and artifacts are prepared for research and display.
Over the past year, the facility underwent extensive renovations including roof repair, beam replacement and new window installation to preserve and improve the center for future generations.
“Clark Regional Park’s Interpretive Center is loved by both children and adults and provides visitors with an educational view of prehistoric Orange County,” said Supervisor Doug Chaffee, Orange County Board of Supervisors. “With the completed renovations and upcoming additions, the center will welcome future generations to enjoy fossils and artifacts found right here in Orange County.”
The California Natural Resources Agency has recently awarded Clark Regional Park’s Interpretive Center with the California Museums Grant. This three-year grant-funded project will be used to upgrade exhibits that have been in place for more than 15 years and improve the overall guest experience by providing new content for all learners. Additions will include expanding exhibits of the County’s archaeology collection developed in collaboration with local Native American tribes to highlight the intricate link between Indigenous communities and the land.
The Interpretive Center is open Wednesdays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. School and group tours are available with advance reservation. Please call 714-973-3170 for more information.
Located within the 105-acre Ralph B. Clark Regional Park, the interpretive center tells the prehistoric tale of the area with its extensive fossil collection. Much of the collection dates from over 1 million years ago with some fossils as “young” as 10,000 years old. Most of the collection was acquired during excavations for sand and gravel from the area for construction of the Santa Ana and Riverside Freeways from 1956-1973.
OC Parks manages nearly 60,000 acres of parks, historical and coastal facilities and open space for the County of Orange as part of OC Community Resources. http://www.ocparks.com
