Art Center College of Design offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, with classes held at two campuses in Pasadena.

Azusa's drama department produces some family friendly shows during the school year.

California State University, Fullerton became part of the state university system in 1957 and has been serving the community ever since. Events at the Titan Sports Complex are sometimes of interest to families.

Cal State LA has been serving the community for over 50 years.

The Luckman Fine Arts Complex hosts exhibits throughout the year, as well as concerts and plays; check our calendar for information about events of interest to families.

The University Times is the school's publication and a resource for finding students interested in childcare work. The phone numer to place an ad is 323.343.4219.

CSUN, the San Fernando Valley campus of the huge California State University public system, is one of the largest universities in the country, with some 30,000 graduate and undergraduate students studying at its 350-acre Northridge campus.

The university has an excellent film school, a nationally-known music school, and an award-winning journalism department. It's also known for its Center for Deaf Studies, and its Department of Education, which trains many of California's public and private school teachers.

The CSUN Art Center hosts exhibits throughout the year, and the Performing Arts Center presents concerts and plays; check our calendar for information about events of interest to families.

The Teenage Drama Workshop presents a schedule of Summer Theatre for Children in conjunction with the Department of Theatre; our calendar contains a complete schedule.

And the classified section of the university newspaper, the Daily Sundial, is a great place to look for tutors and child care help; all those Child Development majors make great babysitters, and often have flexible schedules! Call 818.677.2998 to place an ad.

The California Institute of Technology, or Caltech, is a paradise for kids with surplus energy. The campus comprises acres of green space, public art, plazas, water fountains, ponds teeming with turtles and frogs, and all kinds of mature trees that create a shady oasis on a hot summer's day.

The campus has coffee houses and a student center that sells refreshments. The school's Beckman Auditorium schedules family-friendly programming year-round.

Glendale Community College has a campus that consists of 100 acres and 15 permanent buildings on the slopes of the San Rafael Mountains. The college has a state of the art planetarium.

LA school that offers degree programs in Computer Science and Business Management.

Los Angeles Valley College was created and developed to meet the tremendous growth of the San Fernando Valley during the 1940s and early 50s. The college was officially chartered by the Los Angeles Board of Education in June of 1949.

Valley College continues to be a focal point of the San Fernando Valley with over 17,000 students and a faculty of nearly 500. Valley offers a number of recreational and cultural opportunities to the community.

Loyola Marymount University or LMU periodically holds family-friendly arts events. The university is also a good resource for finding babysitters.

Otis College of Art and Design is a respected design college in West LA. The school's Ben Maltz Gallery is a professional art space that sometimes offers family-friendly exhibitions or events.

Pasadena City College has been serving the communities of Altadena, Arcadia, La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena and Temple City since 1924. Day, evening, and weekend classes are available.

One of nine Los Angeles Community Colleges, Los Angeles Pierce College has a working farm (cows and all) as part of its agricultural program. The annual Farm Walk every spring invites the public to join in for a day of sheep-shearing, goat feeding, chicken petting, and other assorted farm-related activities.

Pierce also hosts music festivals, childrens' theatre events, a farmers' market with produce from its own farm, and more throughout the year. See our events calendar for details.

From a simple outdoor picnic in the sculpture garden to a kids' show at Royce Hall, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is more than just a world-class educational institution. Families can enjoy a surprising number of activities and events held at and by the university.

Located in Westwood, between Sunset and Wilshire Boulevards on LA's westside, the campus roams over a 419-acre area with lush landscaping and impressive architecture. Starting at the southern end of UCLA, accessed via Westwood Boulevard, visitors will find the UCLA Store.

Looking more like a Bloomingdale's than a campus shop, the store sells UCLA-emblazoned clothes and collectibles as well as non-partisan goods. Designer clothes and even makeup can be found in this attractive complex. The bookstore itself is as good as many big-chain stores, with a huge inventory of fiction and textbooks (surprise - many of which are authored by UCLA professors).

To the southwest of the store lies Pauley Pavilion, one of the many sports venues that families frequent. Aside from the basketball games at Pauley Pavilion, the campus hosts volleyball, gymnastics, track-and-field, and soccer matches. Football and baseball are off-campus. Tickets can be purchased through UCLA's Central Ticket Office (CTO) by calling 310.UCLA.101 (310.825.2101) or visiting the web site.

Heading to the middle of campus, visitors will find the famed plaza of buildings that includes Royce Hall. Many classical, jazz, dance, and other performance shows play in the acoustically brilliant hall, as well as more specifically family-oriented programs. Across the plaza is the Powell Library, a magnificent architectural specimen with a dazzling array of books.

Families will find film options at both the James A. Bridges theater at the northern end of campus and the Hammer Museum's Billy Wilder Theater. The Freud (pronounced "frood") Playhouse runs revival theatrical productions, many of which are great for the whole gang. Performance tickets can be purchased through UCLA's Central Ticket Office (CTO) by calling 310.UCLA.101 (310.825.2101) or visiting the Web site at http://www.tickets.ucla.edu .

The Wight Gallery of Art is open year-round, though it's more suited to older kids, and the Hammer Museum sometimes has kids' programs.

The sculpture garden, also at the north end, is a unique spot to run around or picnic near artwork made by some of the world's great artists.

Aside from Powell and UCLA's many other libraries, books play a big role at one of the campus' main events. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, an annual confab of booksellers, authors, and publishers, sets up a massive family area where children's bookstores show off their wares, book characters (in costume) roam and greet, and authors and celebrities read and perform scenes from books.

Over 100,000 people attend this festival, many of whom mill about the family section. Be prepared for lots of human traffic and decent but expensive food. But this celebration of reading amidst the tree-sheltered terrain of the exhibition area is well worth the trip.

The Fowler Museum is a campus treasure trove. The collection and exhibitions focus on cultural objects primarily from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Native and Latin America, past and present. Interpretive exhibitions and workshops are offered for families during the school year, and summer camp sessions are available for children. Weekend Walkthroughs of current exhibitions, led by museum educators and curators, are conducted on the first Saturday and Sunday of each month and are appropriate for all ages.

The Geffen Playhouse is located just south of campus. The Geffen offers Los Angeles theater goers a season of five plays, as well as a variety of outreach and educational programs. The Playhouse is dedicated to presenting the best in both classic and contemporary plays and includes both West Coast and world premieres in its roster. The Geffen values its role as an important educational resource by providing students with master classes, workshops, and internships and is affiliated with UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television.

The university hosts countless other music, performance, and sports events the family can enjoy. See our calendar for details.

UCLA provides a mind-boggling array of camps and classes. The Summer Youth Program offers no less than 6 camps, ranging from the Camp Tots (for 5 year olds) to CIT (counselors in training for 15 to 17-year olds).

For kids who want to concentrate on a particular sport, UCLA Athletics Sports Camp has programs in everything from basketball to water polo. Swimming and tennis classes are available for ages 3 to 12 and older kids can take part in Teen Outdoor Adventures.

In the summer months, UCLA is lucky enough to host the Countrywide Classic and be an important part of the only major men's tennis event in Los Angeles as world-class tennis explodes onto the hardcourts of the prestigious Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA, home of the 1984 Olympic Games. Tennis players compete for a total prize winning of one million dollars. Check our calendar for listings.

UCLA also runs UniCamp, a summer experience for underprivileged youth run by volunteers and Bruin Woods, a family camp for Bruin alumni held at the university's Lake Arrowhead complex.

The University of Judaism is a non-demoninational university with both undergraduate and graduate liberal arts programs. The university also has a rabbinical studies program and a large selection of continuing education classes.

Facilities include the Ostrow Library, home to one of the west coast's largest collections of Judaica,
the Platt and Borstein Art Galleries, which hosts major exhibitions of both Jewish and non-Jewish art, the Smalley Sculpture Garden, and the Gindi Auditorium, site of concerts, plays, celebrations, and other programs.
The UJ also owns the Max and Pauline Zimmer Conference Center, a 96 acre campus in Ojai, which is home to Camp Ramah of California.

The University of Southern California, more commonly known as USC, is in the heart of the city and one of the country's leading research universities.

William Carey International University is a small, private university focusing on international development. Graduates generally work with voluntary agencies and NGOs (non governmental organizations) involved in cross-cultural development.