USGS, 50 Years in Menlo Park, CA Logo

The self-guided tour introduces you to the USGS Western Science Center and the scientific research conducted in Menlo Park, California. The tour is most appropriate for a group of 6 or less and for students age 10 and older. Every stop on this tour is wheelchair accessible, either by elevator or by ramp.

Special needs or guided tours for larger groups may be arranged by calling the Earth Science Information Center (ESIC) at 650-329-4390.

Self-Guided Tour (downloadable pdf file)

 

Publication created by the USGS Western Region Outreach Committee
Revised 2000

Western Science Center

Menlo Park, California

Self-Guided Tour

USGS Menlo Park Tour Map

INDEX

  • Welcome to the USGS
  • Natural and Historical Setting
  • Your Tour
  • Stop 1: Visitor Center, Building 3
  • Stop 2: Earth Science Information Center (ESIC), Building 3
  • Stop 3: Outdoor Plaza between Buildings 3 and 15
  • Stop 4: Pillow lava display between Buildings 3 and 15
  • Stop 5: Vincent E. McKelvey Federal Building and the USGS Library, Building 15
  • Stop 6: Memory plaque honoring William Pecora, USGS Director (1965-1971), across the street from the Library
  • Stop 7: Petrified log, Building 1
  • Stop 8: Antarctic rock, Building 1
  • Stop 9: Mount St. Helens lava, dedicated to the memory of David Johnston, towards Building 20
  • Stop 10: Blueschist metamorphic rock, Building 2
  • Stop 11: Rhododendrons and azaleas located in the courtyard of Building 2
  • Stop 12: Wisteria arbor and large boulder of orbicular diorite from the Sierra Nevada located between Buildings 1 and 2
  • Stop 13: Rock and mineral exhibits, Building 1
  • Stop 14: USGS benchmark "WMC 1994" used to set your GPS receiver, Building 1
  • USGS Menlo Park Sources of Information


This completes your tour. We hope that you will have time now or someday in the future to return to the ESIC for an extended time of browsing among the maps and publications; return to the library to browse among the 400,000 volumes; or take a closer look at any geologic or botanical specimens and pleasant spots along the tour.

We hope you have enjoyed your tour of the USGS and that you will come back often to view our changing hallway and Visitor Center exhibits.

The USGS Science Center sponsors a free monthly public lecture, usually held on the last Thursday of each month starting at 7 p.m., and on those evenings the ESIC remains open until the start of the lecture. Please check the Public Events Calendar or call 650-329-5000.