Guided Tour Of Star Eco Station With Kids

Star Eco Station is quite a unique exotic animal rescue and environmental education center operating out of Culver City, CA.  The Center houses over 200 birds, reptiles & rescued wildlife.  Offering 45-60min guided tours on the weekends and private tours on weekdays.

See The Full Detailed Video Below

Star Eco Station Visiting Information

• Address:
  • 10101 Jefferson Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
• Phone:
  • 310-842-8060
• Website:
  • www.ecostation.org
• Hours:
  • Saturday and Sunday 10am-4pm (last tour is at 3pm).
  • The tours start every hour on the hour on a first-come, first served basis. No reservations are required but tours can sell out. We recommend calling before your visit to make sure they are open.
• Entry price:
  • Adults $12, Seniors $10, Children $10, Age 2 years and younger are free.
• Parking:
  • Free parking in their lot
• Time spent:
  • 1 hour
• Stroller/Wagon friendly:
  • Yes
• Restrooms:
  • Flushable toilets.
• What we observed:
  • We recommend arriving 15 mins earlier to pay for admission and Eco Tours add-ons. The add-on options are feed large fish $5, feed a reptile $5, and feed a tortoise $5.
• Birthday party rentals:
  • Yes
• Gift certificates:
  • No

What We Said In Our Star Eco Station Video

Once inside, the tour begins in the aquarium area.  Where it feels a lot like a saltwater pet store, you’ll see all the expected fish and a middle tank full of our kid’s favorite clown and tang fish from Finding Nemo.  Other stand-out things in that area were the water-based reptiles and the giant fish.

The next two rooms are Eco Stations, rescued animal rooms that house an alligator, hedgehog, Lynx, and grey fox. While it was cool to see the hedgehog, the rooms felt a bit confined and had a strong urine smell. Plus, the display of confiscated animal products like the jaguar pelt and craved elephant tusks will generate a bunch of questions from kids that you’ll need to be ready to answer.   

Moving on from there, we headed into a reptile room which was our favorite.  In addition to seeing a large variety of reptiles, you’ll also get a few opportunities to touch some of the rooms’ most people-friendly inhabitants. From an iguana to a turtle, we all had to opportunity to touch and hold each one which our youngest was more than happy to do.

From there, you can hear what you’re going to see next.  The bird room houses quite a few talkers, squawking and saying hello.  Our girls loved that room, saying hello and giggling with the talkative birds as we made out way through with our ears intact.

Shortly after the tour ends, visitors who purchased feedings stick around to feed from a curated list of creatures.  We started with a tortoise they brought into the front area to say hello.  From there, we returned to a couple of areas to feed fruit to their giant fish and fed mealworms a feisty lizard in the reptile room.  It was pretty fun.

Eco Station is a fun location for families with kids, and it’s easy to see that it’s geared towards children’s education and school field trips. 

Similar Options That Might Interest You

Here are some similar options you might enjoy.

Wildlife Learning Center

Reptile Zoo (youtube video)

See you again with more around California with kids.