Junior Center of Art and Science
We are now open on Saturdays from 10am – 3pm
From water colors, to animal encounters, there is always a surprise waiting for you at the Junior Center!
Be sure to check out the Saturdays at the Lab page for more info on our upcoming workshops! We have an exiting selection of offerings for creatives across age groups and interests. Register today!
The Junior Center has finally reopened after three years of extensive repairs from two fires. Join us on Saturday, September 28th at 6pm to celebrate our legacy and support our future programming.
From Ashes to Art features a curated selection of art from local contemporary artists, all graciously donated and priced under $500. Proceeds support scholarship opportunities for youth to attend our popular camps, after-school programs, and workshops. Each year our programs reach over 5,000 young people and their families and throughout the East Bay. Sliding scale is available for all our offerings, and 60% of families take advantage of the scholarships we provide.
Experience our beautifully renovated space on Lake Merritt. At From Ashes to Art, you can enjoy drinks and dancing under the twinkling lights of our lakeview decks, participate in a Virtual World Building experience with our talented Teaching Artist Judit Navratil, explore the gallery for your next work of art, and visit the Trash Falcon exhibit in the Bellevue Room.
Your support makes a huge difference for East Bay youth and will help us expand opportunities for our community. We hope to see you there!
Welcome back!
We’re thrilled to be in our space again after completing the first week of camp. Seeing Bill, our legacy instructor, back in action guiding carpentry students and watching our young artists take flight has been emotional for all of us. The building is radiant with light, creativity, and the spirit of summer fun.
Please save the date for our grand reopening extravaganza in September. We’ll be hosting a series of Saturday programs, including adult and family workshops, animal visits, and more, as we gear up for this special event.
We can’t wait to welcome you back!
Gary has lived in his home by Lake Merritt for over 15 years. Between the pandemic and a fire that destroyed part of his living quarters, Gary was forced to find a temporary home, and it wasn’t so easy. Gary is somewhat elderly, requires a specific diet, and has many special needs. But his new place? Gary has really been digging it—literally.
Gary is Oakland’s Junior Center for Arts and Science’s star attraction—a California desert tortoise who has been charming both young and old at the Center for over 15 years, inspiring kids to appreciate the diverse world of nature that surrounds them. Gary is now temporarily living at a home in West Oakland, in a habitat created especially for him by two scientists, where he is living his best life.
Gary represents an endangered species, and is an example of an animal that was taken from the wild—probably when he was very small—and sold as a pet. The exact details of Gary’s life before coming to the Center are unknown, but he was likely kept somewhere dark, and was underfed. This was determined due to the pyramiding scutes (thickened bony plates) on the back of his shell that point upwards, where they should be smooth, indicating a lack of access to proper nutrients.
Gary also has a small hole drilled into the back of his shell, where it is believed his previous owners tied a rope to prevent him from escaping. Eventually, Gary was abandoned, and found living alone under an empty house. A family discovered him, and brought him to the Junior Center. Gary’s age is estimated to be around 52 years.
When the pandemic forced the closure of the Junior Center, someone immediately came to mind as the one best suited to foster Gary. Sigrid Hubbell, a scientist who is now studying horticultural therapy, had been bringing Gary food she’d grown at the community Gardens at Lakeside Park on a weekly basis for over a year before the pandemic.
She says he’d get excited about her visits—and the fresh kale he knew he was about to get. “It was something I really looked forward to,” she said.
The Center’s animal caretaker, Zaynab Alrashid, refers to Sigrid as “a super volunteer—and a godsend,” and says that she’s always been Gary’s biggest fan. Zaynab has visited Gary’s new digs, and says it’s “beyond the best situation.”
Zaynab, a Mills College grad who majored in Biology, cares for the Center’s 12 animals, which include everything from a tarantula, to snakes, to a bearded dragon, to Jessie, a Hermann tortoise who is smaller and less social than Gary. Zaynab is actually fostering Jessie until the Center re-opens.
But she acknowledges that Gary is definitely the Center’s rock star; all the kids know him by name. “The first thing they say is ‘Can we see Gary?’” The gregarious tortoise was given free rein to wander the Center, and children loved feeding him.
These days, Gary is enjoying an expansive lot and garden, where he also has what Sigrid describes as a little “smart home,” surrounding an underground burrow, complete with a dual ceramic heat lamp assembly, UVA/UVB sunlamp, temperature/humidity sensor and ample plexiglass for viewing and protection. He roams the property by day, and retires to his enclosure at night.
Sigrid and her partner, Justen Reed had never played host to a reptile before, so there was a big learning curve. Gary also needed to adjust to new surroundings, which he immediately did, and with great gusto. New to him? Clay soil, diverse plants to forage, increased independence, and different animals (cats, dogs, possums, raccoons, rats, mice), including his favorite—ants. And then there’s the absence of children…
Sigrid did quickly learn that Gary’s species is “gopherous,” meaning that digging is his thing. Sigrid says that he’s using his body as intended; his shell for plowing and excavating, tongue for capturing food, and legs for energy-efficient digging.
Sigrid had to educate herself about what plants are toxic to tortoises; luckily there’s a site called the Tortoise Table that had all of the information she needed. “Most of what he eats we consider weeds,” she said. No arugula; but lots of dandelion flowers, white clover and chicory. Strawberries, carrots and grape leaves are his favorites.
He also gets a good soaking each week, which is good for his skin.
Here are the characteristics Sigrid ascribes to Gary, after so much of their time spent together:
And now the world—and all of his fans– have a chance to see and get to know Gary better, thanks to his own YouTube channel. Video titles include Gary’s bout with constipation, Gary observing ants and eating them, Gary drinking water and making bubbles, and Gary’s efficient digging. Sigrid has also designed a most delightful “Lessons from a Desert Tortoise” slide show that further educates folks about the life of a reptilian rock star.
For those of you appreciating how much Sigrid has given to Gary, Sigrid wants you to know how much Gary gives back. She considers him a therapy animal who’s provided much fun, especially during the pandemic with all its stressors. “We’re spoiled because we get to have Gary to ourselves,” she said.
The Junior Center, which is dedicated to providing equitable access to all of their programs, has not yet announced its re-opening date, but is offering in-person and online summer camp, as well as other online programs.
In March, the Junior Center was heavily damaged in a fire that was related to a homeless encampment on their deck. According to officials, damage from the fire to the interior and exterior of the center was estimated to be as high as $250,000.
Oakland’s Junior Center of Arts and Science is still accepting fire relief donations.
Until the Center reopens and Gary is welcomed back by his adoring fans, they can be assured that he’s in very good hands. And since desert tortoises can live to be as old as 80, one can assume he has many more adventures in his future.
