I’m in college. That means a few things: 1) I have no steady source of income. (I commend you if, unlike me, you have the time management for a part-time job!) 2) Therefore, I like things that are cheap. 3) You know what I like even more? Things that are free!
Yep, my parents are paying my (rapidly increasing) college tuition. No, I don’t get an allowance. Luckily, college campuses offer a plethora of activities that are completely and totally free of charge… and usually, a lot of fun too! Here are my top free picks at UCLA:
1. The Fowler Museum: Located right next to Royce Hall, the Fowler Museum collections include more than 150,000 ethnographic and 600,000 archaeological objects representing prehistoric, historic, and contemporary cultures of Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas. The museum usually has five featured exhibitions from around the world, as well as events like film screenings, artist visits, and concerts.
2. Planetarium and Telescope Shows: Current astronomy and astrophysics graduate students give all the public planetarium shows. Content commonly includes discussion about the current night sky, constellations, astronomical phenomena, and more. During the fall, winter, and spring quarters of the UCLA Academic Calendar, free shows are every Wednesday night at 7pm and last 45-60 minutes. On clear nights visitors are invited to look through one of the department telescopes after the planetarium show. The UCLA Planetarium is located on the eighth floor of the Mathematical Sciences Building in room MS 8224.
3. Libraries: UCLA has 14 libraries of varying sizes and for all interests, including the Arts Library, Biomedical Library, East Asian Library, Law Library, Music Library, Science and Engineering Library, and more. The famous Powell Library, with its many comfy chairs, couches, high ceilings, and Hogwarts-esque exterior, is my favorite. Whether you’re looking for a quiet spot to do homework or just a good place to crack open a new book, you are sure to find tranquility in one of UCLA’s many libraries.
4. Meet the Artists at UCLA Live: UCLA Live’s Art in Action program offers workshops, lectures, master classes, films, symposia, and collaborations with world-class artists. They offer hands-on activities and events that, unlike many of UCLA Live’s main programs (which offer discounted student tickets), are completely free! Go to http://www.uclalive.org/community/action.asp for a list of upcoming events.
5. Sporting Events: All sporting events (except men’s basketball and football) are free with your BruinCard.That means you can go cheer on the Bruins at water polo, baseball, soccer, and volleyball without spending a dime!
6. Movies (and Sneak Peeks), Concerts, and Speakers from Campus Events Commission: Go to www.campuseventsblog.com for a full listing of sneak movie screenings (usually a week or more before they are released in theaters, or movies that just came out on DVD), concerts, speakers (like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, NBD!), and more. All you have to do is reserve your spot on MyUCLA two business days in advance.
7. Salsa Dancing: The Salsa Society at UCLA offers street salsa every Thursday night by the Bruin Bear. You can get a free beginners’ lesson from 5:30-6:30pm then show off your new moves from 6:30-10:30pm with an open floor for social dancing.
8. UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden: Take a break from stressful UCLAlife to visit this zen-like garden less than a mile away in Bel-Air.Adorned with authentic Japanese antique stone carvings, water basins, lanterns, a 5-tiered pagoda, symbolic rocks, bridges, and shrines, the garden is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday by reservation only (10am-2pm).
Pictures:
http://www-scf.usc.edu/~suvarnab/final_project/pilotimages/primary_2nd.jpg
http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/depts/happenings/planetarium.jpg