Balboa Fun Zone focuses on ocean education as Discovery Cube eyes its future at the site
The Balboa Fun Zone is grooming pint-sized environmentalists.
The historic waterfront amusement hub on Newport Bay, opened in 1936, has seen its ups and downs. It’s had at least 10 owners — including twice when bank trusts took over the struggling business — and has repeatedly fallen into disrepair.
While the Ferris wheel remains, the merry-go-round, bumper cars and haunted house are long gone. Now, there’s a different kind of ride.
On Friday morning, a yellow boat docked and 47 seventh graders from Westminster’s Warner Middle School filed off with water samples they’d taken from the Back Bay.
The students headed to one of three Fun Zone storefronts that have been converted into Ocean Quest educational and museum space, run by the Santa Ana-based Discovery Cube science nonprofit.
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There, they’d test for the water for contaminants and forward the results to the Surfrider Foundation as part of the environmental group’s water-quality monitoring.
“Especially at this middle-school age, it empowers them to be involved and engaged,” said science teacher Travis Garwick, who is bringing his classes on the Ocean Quest field trip for the second consecutive year. “They are participating in a real-world application. Nobody ever does that for a 12-year old. Mostly what they hear is, ‘Stop skateboarding.’ ‘Stop doing this.’ ‘Stop doing that.’”
That practical involvement on Friday included taking notes of human activity in the Back Bay’s Marine Protected Area — no illegal fishing this time to report to Orange County Coastkeeper.
They also looked for tags on the 10 sea lions on the buoy at the entrance to Newport Bay, so they could forward to the Marine Mammal Care Center sightings of animals that had been through the facility.
Later, they’d record the type of trash they found on the beach and submit that information for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database.
“We’re an inland school but this helps them understand what happens to things that go down the storm drain and the water tests show why it’s important to clean up dog waste,” Garwick said. “They also get an idea about some of the jobs that are out there and that well paying jobs often involve science, engineering, math.”
A history of carnivals
The Discovery Cube is the latest owner hoping to pump fresh life into the Fun Zone, although the 1-square-block property had begun transitioning from an iconic coastal carnival to an educational space by 2005 when the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum bought the site for a reported $14 million.
The location was then re-branded as the ExplorOcean museum and educational center, while continuing to lease property to existing amusement and food businesses.
At one point, ExplorOcean launched a fundraising campaign to build a $105-million, three-story “ocean literacy center,” but called off the project in 2014.
Discovery Cube merged with ExplorOcean in 2016, announcing “plans to immediately invest in the famous Balboa Fun Zone and restore this iconic piece of the Newport Beach landscape.” It officially acquired the property in 2017 thanks to a donation, according to Discovery Cube Development Director Michelle Highberg.
Dubbing the operation Ocean Quest, Discovery Cube has since reshaped operations to integrate its own approach to engaging and educating young people.
“We’re taking what the Cube does best and bringing it down here,” said Colleen D’Aluisio, Ocean Quest’s operations director. “It’s the perfect location for a hands-on experience.”
Improvements to the site so far have consisted of routine maintenance and “minor aesthetic” improvements, according to Highberg
Aquarium plans
Plans call for an aquarium, an ocean lab and boat pavilion on the site.
Currently, there’s room to display only about half the model boats inherited from the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum. Estimated costs and size of the project are not known, although a proposed timeline shows work could begin within two years.
“We’re in the development stage of what we’ll be doing,” D’Aluisio said.
Beside the boat museum, there’s currently a room used for field trip activities — including testing water samples — and a hands-on “Science of Sailing” exhibit.
Much of the Fun Zone block is still leased by a game arcade and boardwalk-styled food joints. Several privately-run rides remain on the dock, including the iconic Ferris wheel — which, among other things, was used for Childish Gambino’s “3005” music video (148 million views).
Ocean Quest’s own operations also include boat rentals and a lecture series for adults, and it partners with a whale-watching tour company based on the dock. A joint ticket for the boat tour and the Ocean Quest museum is $15.
“Our goal is to focus on environmental stewardship and helping people become better environmental stewards,” D’Aluisio said.
What: Ocean Quest museum and educational center
Where: 600 E. Bay Ave., Newport Beach
When: Now open Saturday and Sunday, noon-5 p.m., also open weekdays during the summer
Cost: $5 for the museum
Website: oceanquestoc.org