No matter what your recreational bent--horseback riding, outdoor activities, listening to music, arts and crafts, bowling, swimming or sports--the Davis campus has a place where you can enjoy it.
Facilities and programs such as the Equestrian Center, Craft Center, Outdoor Adventures, Recreation Hall, Intramural Sports, MU Art Gallery, Recreation Swimming Pool or the MU Games Area will help you balance the academic demands at UC Davis with your leisure interests. A catalog of recreational activities is published quarterly, mailed to all residences in Davis and distributed throughout campus. Call 916-752-1730 to request a catalog.
Information:
Memorial Union Programs and Campus Recreation
Lower Freeborn
916-752-1730
Memorial Union Programs and Campus Recreation at UC Davis provide the community with a variety of choices for social, physical, creative, intellectual and cultural expression. The purpose of these programs is to broaden the personal experiences of participants, to complement the academic mission of the university and to enhance the quality of life for the campus. These programs provide many healthy activities to offset the stresses associated with a rigorous academic environment.
Outdoor Adventures, located in the Barn on the corner of California and Hutchison, will help you develop your outdoor skills and plan your outdoor excursions. You can rent equipment of professional quality for your adventure. An up-to-date library contains topographic maps, trail guides and other materials. Classes, excursions and clinics in backpacking, rock-climbing techniques, whitewater rafting, kayaking, sea kayaking, mountaineering, cross-country skiing and other sports are offered throughout the year. Group rates and custom-designed trips can be arranged. Many special activities such as wilderness emergency-care clinics, whitewater river guide training, slide presentations and programs conducted by outdoor experts are also held. Stop in and share your own outdoor experiences. For more information call 916-752-1995/1730.
The Equestrian Center, southwest of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital off Garrod Drive, is active all year round, providing trail rides, practice sessions and instruction in both English and Western riding. Group and private lessons are available for beginning through advanced levels, and trained volunteers can provide an educational experience for those interested in horse care and stable management. The Equestrian Center sponsors clinics, horse shows, summer equestrian camps and special events, and also coordinates the Equestrian Club for student participation. Telephone 916-752-2372/1730 for details.
The Craft Center in the South Silo is an ideal place to channel your creative energy. Facilities are available on a drop-in basis, or purchase a pass for more frequent use of the equipment and work space. Workshops and classes are offered each quarter in such varied crafts as woodworking, weaving, jewelry-making, art and graphics, computer imaging, ceramics, photography, silkscreen printing, welding, leatherworking and stained glass. Call for more information: 916-752-1475/1730.
The Recreation Swimming Pool, at the corner of La Rue Road and Hutchison Drive, is a large free-form pool with a separate wading pool, a bathhouse, shuffleboard courts and an extensive grass area for sunbathing. The staff offers lessons to all age groups and arranges for special events such as "family nights." The pool opens for the season in April and closes in October. For more information, call 916-752-2695 or 916-752-1995/1730.
The Games Area, located below the UCD Bookstore, is a recreational facility consisting of a bowling center, billiards room, video arcade, lounge and storage lockers. The Games Area conducts bowling leagues, classes, clinics and tournaments for all ages from beginning through advanced skill levels. The facility is fully accessible to those with disabilities. Call 916-752-2580/1730 for details.
The Memorial Union (MU) complex, directly north of the Quad, serves as the community center for the campus. First-floor facilities include the UCD Bookstore, Corral gift shop and the Coffee House. Bring yourself up to date on local events by stopping at the MU Campus Information Center. The Information Center takes reservations for the use of tables and display boards in and around the MU. The center maintains an up-to-date database of 1,200 organizations and can refer you to people, places, programs and services on and off campus. The goal is to save you the "run-around" so you can get the information you need quickly and conveniently. You can also use this valuable resource by telephone, 916-752-2222, or e-mail: infocenter@ucdavis.edu.
King Lounge, on the second floor, features music listening and periodicals in a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere popular for studying. The MU Art Gallery and a complex of meeting rooms, the MU II Conference Center, complete the second floor. The administrative offices of the Memorial Union, Campus Recreation, ASUCD, Student Leadership Center and Student Judicial Affairs are on the third and fourth floors of the MU tower. These offices may move temporarily during the seismic renovation of the Memorial Union. The MU Campus Information Center can give you the current location.
Freeborn Hall is a 1,250-seat assembly hall used for performing arts, dances, banquets, lectures and conferences. The Campus Box Office, where you can purchase tickets for campus events and cash checks, is outside Freeborn.
The MU Art Gallery and Music and Periodicals Center, on the second floor adjacent to King Lounge, feature a changing series of contemporary and historical art exhibits throughout the school year. The gallery sponsors print sales, special programs and lectures, as well as internships for those interested in career work in an art gallery or museum. The Music and Periodicals Center provides current periodicals for leisure reading and has a large library of music for your listening pleasure. For information, call 916-752-2885/1730. (The MU Art Gallery and Music Periodical Center location will be closed for seismic renovation for approximately 18 months.)
The Memorial Union has several facilities that can be rented for group gatherings. With its rustic wood-paneled interior and ceiling-high windows, Rec Pool Lodge is an ideal location for meetings, lectures or dances. The covered patio surrounding the lodge offers a lovely, shaded environment for outside dining during the warm weather months. Situated in the secluded Arboretum on the southwest perimeter of campus, Putah Creek Lodge provides a relaxing atmosphere for lectures, banquets, weddings or dances. The spacious lawn surrounding the lodge is available for a variety of activities such as volleyball, receptions and picnics. Additional lodge amenities include kitchens and outdoor barbecues.
The Silo Union, recently renovated to serve a variety of campus needs, offers food services, meeting/conference facilities, lounges and the campus pub. If you would like to reserve space in the Silo for a meeting, social event or conference, call Campus Events and Information at
916-752-2813.
The South Silo houses the ASUCD Experimental College (916-752-2568), Student Special Services (916-752-2007), Graduate Student Association (916-752-6108) and a small branch of the Bookstore serving the School of Law (916-752-2961).
Information:
Entrance 1B
916-752-6074
Recreation Hall is a multi-use arena available for intramural and informal recreation play, intercollegiate athletic basketball and women's gymnastics, physical education classes and sports clubs. Numerous special events sponsored each year by the campus and community are held in the 8,400-seat Recreation Hall. The tri-level facility has locker rooms; a flat running track; an equipment room; racquetball, wallyball and squash courts; a weight room with free weights, universals, hydraulic machines, stair machines, rowing machines and bicycles; court areas for basketball, volleyball and badminton; and areas for martial arts, table tennis, gymnastics, aerobics and dance. The upper level north area has a state-of-the-art artificial rockclimbing wall for climbers of all skill levels. The Special Events Room can be reserved for meetings by calling the Campus Events and Information Office.
Undergraduate students can use Rec Hall facilities by showing their current valid photo ID card. Graduate students must pay a $5.00 per quarter activity fee. Students may also purchase a $6.00 guest pass valid for three people. Non-students may purchase a privilege card at Rec Hall to use lockers, equipment and facilities. Patrons may also purchase a daily pass at the 1B entrance. Rec Hall is open Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Fridays 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sundays noon to 10:00 p.m. throughout the year. Rec Hall hours are shortened during quarter breaks and summer.
Recreation Hall is surrounded by an outdoor fitness cluster on Orchard Field, the in-line skate facility on La Rue Road just north of the Rec Pool, and the volleyball and basketball courts west of the Segundo residence hall complex. While these courts are primarily for student use, they are also available to the general community. The courts cannot be reserved and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Information:
IM Sports/Sports Clubs
140 Rec Hall
916-752-3500
Intercollegiate Athletics
264 Hickey Gymnasium
916-752-1111
Intramural Sports, Sports Clubs and Intercollegiate Athletics programs provide organized sports competition and physical recreational activities across the broad spectrum of students' physical abilities. The underlying objective is to offer a coordinated program of sport opportunities to meet student needs at every level of skill and interest.
The Intramural Sports office provides a structured, competitive program involving 36 men's, women's and coed activities with over 13,000 participants. Complementing this highly popular sports arena is the diverse sports club program. A total of 33 recreational and competitive offerings attract 1,400 athletes in activities ranging from archery, badminton, crew, horse polo, and water and snow skiing, to the traditional volleyball, lacrosse, rugby, water polo and equestrian events.
Although intercollegiate athletics at Davis benefits the campus by creating esprit de corps, its primary role is to provide personal development opportunities for as many non-scholarship student-athlete participants as facilities and resources permit. Currently, the program consists of varsity teams in eleven men's sports and twelve women's sports. Membership affiliation is with the Northern California Athletic Conference and Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Approximately 650 students compete on varsity teams each year.
Whether you want to participate, be entertained or be inspired, an abundance of creative, musical, theater, art, design and dance offerings are happening on campus all year long.
UC Davis Presents (916-757-3199), located at 200 B Street, Suite A, brings a wide variety of world-class performing artists to UC Davis to serve both the campus and surrounding communities. During the academic year, UC Davis Presents offers concerts and recitals by classical, jazz and folk music artists; drama; classical, modern and ethnic dance; and lectures by eminent public figures. Bulletin boards, kiosks, the student radio station KDVS and the California Aggie inform audiences about upcoming events.
You'll find annual and quarterly brochures and promotional materials on all events sponsored by UC Davis Presents at the Campus Box Office and at the UC Davis Presents office. Tickets for UC Davis Presents events may be purchased at the Campus Box Office in Freeborn Hall, 916-752-1915, or any BASS/TM outlet.
The Department of Music (916-752-5537) sponsors the UCD Symphony Orchestra, Chorus, Chamber Singers, Early Music Ensemble, Gospel Choir, Concert Band and small ensemble groups. Music majors and other interested students can receive credit for participation in these groups, which perform at concerts and recitals open to the university community. The department sponsors the annual Theatre of Voices Festival and, for one quarter each year, an artist-in-residence who gives concerts, recitals and lectures. Free noon concerts featuring individual performers and ensembles--both professional musicians and music students--are a favorite weekly event during the school year. The UC Davis Contemporary Music Players and the UCD Faculty Woodwind Quintet are in residence on campus. The Department of Music sponsors nearly 100 public concerts each year.
The Department of Dramatic Art has one of the finest theater facilities in California. The excellent faculty and the Granada Artists-in-Residence program (which brings a major British director to the department each quarter), the presence of graduate students working on Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degrees in acting and Ph.D. degrees in 20th Century Performance and Culture, and an unusually good stock of scenery, props, costumes and state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment all contribute to the professional quality of UC Davis productions and programs.
Each year's drama and dance schedule includes University Theatre Season (five major productions of established plays); Dance Collage (a collection of student and faculty choreographed dance numbers); and Studio Season (four to six productions). Studio Season features premiere performances of new plays written at UC Davis, productions of established plays, and performance projects conceived and produced for the first time at UC Davis. Studio Season productions are held in the smaller department theaters and typically are produced entirely by students. The final production each year is the Undergraduate Playwright's Festival, a collection of three or four one-act plays written by undergraduates and produced for the first time. These productions are part of the academic program of the department and serve an important purpose in the study of dramatic art. Participation is open to all students.
A tour of all the UC Davis art galleries will take you from one corner of the campus to the other. The MU Art Gallery (916-752-2885), located on the second floor of the Memorial Union, features a series of changing contemporary and historical art exhibits during the school year. Works by professional artists as well as students are on display for periods of six weeks.
The Design Gallery (916-752-4139) on the first floor of Walker Hall is known for its exciting exhibitions of design-related material. Changing presentations and installations of architecture, interiors, graphics, costumes, textiles, folk art and the annual Student Show and Picnic Day Exhibition reflect the interests of the design program. The Design Gallery is an innovative space where the installations are as interesting as the material presented. Hours during exhibition periods are noon to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sundays, and closed on holidays.
The Art Building houses three galleries. The Richard L. Nelson Gallery (916-752-8500), named in honor of the first chair of the Department of Art and dedicated in 1976, is located on the first floor. The gallery organizes regularly changing exhibitions of historical and contemporary works of art. The gallery's program reflects and complements the teaching program of the Department of Art and provides aesthetic enrichment to the university community and the Northern California area at large. Hours during exhibition periods are noon to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday, and 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. The Fine Arts Collection (916-752-8500) is located adjacent to the Nelson Gallery. Representing various historical periods and cultures, it is the Davis campus's major collection of art. Selected works are available for viewing weekday afternoons. The Basement Gallery is a student-directed gallery that exhibits the artwork of advanced UC Davis art majors. The exhibitions change biweekly throughout the academic year. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Hart Hall is home to the C.N. Gorman Museum (916-752-6567, Native American Studies). The museum was established in 1973 in honor of Carl N. Gorman, artist, advocate and former faculty member of Native American Studies. The museum features changing exhibitions of works by Native American and diverse artists. Selections from the permanent collection of art are also exhibited on a rotating basis throughout the year. The museum is located on the first floor in Hart Hall and is open from noon to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and by appointment.
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UC Davis 1996-97 Online General Catalog