Southern
California
Academy of
Sciences

About SCAS...

Formed in 1891 and incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1907, the Southern California Academy of Sciences gained a reputation as a leader in science in the Los Angeles area early in its history. In 1909 the secretary of the Academy was commissioned to request from Mrs. Ida Hancock Ross, who owned Rancho La Brea, an allotment of ground containing fossil deposits for excavation under the auspices of the Academy. Large quantities of bones of extinct animals were exhumed from these tar deposits.

This led to the Academy's active interest in the developmentof a new museum to house these collections. With the southern division of the Cooper Ornithological Club, the Historical Society of Southern California, and the Fine Arts League, the Academy entered into an agreement with the County of Los Angeles whereby representatives from these organizations would form a governing board to determine the policies of the museum; the county would contribute the funds for the construction and maintenance of the building and the employment of a staff. Thus was born the Museum of History, Science and Art at the present site of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History in Exposition Park.

The Academy continues as a nonprofit corporation today and has its office in the Museum of Natural History. Its mission "... to promote fellowship among scientists and those interested in science; to contribute to scientific literature through publication of pertinent manuscripts; to encourage and promote scholarship among young scientists; and to provide information to the membership, to the public, and to the public agencies on such matters as may be of joint interest to the sciences and to society"* serves as the structure and inspiration for its activities. These goals are approached annually through:

• the BULLETIN, a journal consisting of original papers that is published three times per year;
• an Annual Meeting that caters to both the academic and applied science community and has multiple awards for the best student papers;
• and the Research Training Program of the Junior Academy, which places high school students in active research laboratories.
  • * By-laws of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 1978, amended 1984, 1990, 1993
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  Click here to see the Academy By-Laws.

   

SCAS Home Page
Officers and Board of Directors, Committees
Membership Information
Publications
Annual Meeting
Research Training Program for High School Students (RTP and SCJAS pages)
Organizational Support

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