One Book, One College Self-guided Tour
ONE COLLEGE ONE BOOK DAWN AT THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY
ABOUT YOUR VISIT
Present your PCC faculty or student ID to the cashier at one of the ticket windows to be admitted
to the grounds of the Huntington. Be sure to take a map with you before you start. You may visit
(open from 10 AM to 5 PM on Saturdays and Sundays) any weekend in the month of October to
complete this assignment.
Note that you will be doing a lot of walking, mostly outdoors, so wear comfortable shoes and
bring water. You will need to bring this instruction sheet, pen/pencil, and paper. You may also
want to bring your smartphone or camera to capture images. If you are an artist or want to
draw, sketch, or paint your submissions, bring your supplies with you so you get started. You will
also need a copy of Dawn to complete this assignment. Your admission is good for the entire
day, so freely explore the rest of the gardens and indoor galleries on your visit.
This assignment is designed as a self-guided tour with four parts. There are three required stops
along the tour and one additional question that you can complete using any of the locations on
the grounds, including one of the required stops. Once you have completed stops 2-4 go back to
the beginning and complete stop number 1. Read more about your visit to the Huntington.
STOP 1 - (CHOOSE YOUR OWN) LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!
(You will probably want to complete this portion of the assignment at the end.)
You are a production assistant for the upcoming Dawn television adaptation and your job is to
find filming locations at the Huntington. Using your copy of the text, your own drawings or
images captured on your smart phone/camera, select a possible location for filming one or two
different scenes in the text.
o Describe the settings you have selected, list the characters involved, the page number
(along with opening and closing lines), scene, and why it should be included in the series.
Why is this particular scene or passage important to the story? What information is being
shared? What is communicated to the audience? What characters are involved? What
has happened just before and just after this scene? (6-10 sentences, plus image(s), and
notes from Dawn) Read more about the television adaptation.
Write your notes here:
One Book, One College Self-guided Tour
STOP 2 BRODY BOTANICAL CENTER /CONSERVATORY AND CHILDRENS GARDEN
Choose either Part A or Part B.
Part A After exploring the Botanical Center for a few minutes, note what stands out to you the
most and why then answer the following:
o What is the purpose of a botanical garden; why is it important to preserve genetic
diversity, know the history of a plant and where it is collected? What might the Oankali
perspective add to your responses? What is their philosophy for encountering diversity
and how does this impact humanity? (5-8 sentences)
Butler did her research for her Dawn and the Lilith’s Brood series of books in the Peruvian rain
forests. Find a carnivorous plant somewhere inside the Botanical Center. Using a microscope,
signs, and other observations, note what type of plant you found, how it survives, functions, and
behaves.
o List the genus and species of the plant. Describe the kind of adaptations this plant would
need to undergo to be the kind of “pod” depicted in Dawn. Find a passage in the text and
note it in your answer, along with the page number. (3-5 sentences)
Part B Children’s Garden. Fire, Earth, Water, and Air are the building blocks of life on our
planet. You can explore the four elements here. You will notice that the scale and size of the
interactive spaces are meant for small children. Lilith notices right away that she cannot interact
with her environment the same way as the Oankali and is troubled by the fact that Earth’s cities
are now ruins.
o How do Oankali children and adolescents behave in the book and how might they
interact in the environment provided in the children’s garden? Imagine that the Oankali
have sent down a ship to destroy the Huntington Library before returning humans to
earth. Write a short scene that describes what this is like for a family of Oankali, including
a mother, father, ooloi and adolescent/child. (8-13 sentences) About the Children's
Garden.
Write your notes here:
Write your notes here:
One Book, One College Self-guided Tour
STOP 3 - DESERT GARDEN
On her travels to the Amazon, Butler bought a postcard with an image of the Puya Raimondii, the
largest species of bromeliad in the world, which grows up to 39 feet and has 10,000 flowers on
one plant! Butler wrote, “I never got to the part of the highland where these grow. The Desert
Garden contains other species of Puyas.
o Why do you think Butler was interested in this plant? Find a plant in this (bromeliad)
family and note what is nearby? What is the most alien thing about the landscape? What
kinds of adaptations (to your body, mentality and skill sets) are required for surviving in a
place like this? (5-8 sentences)
STOP 4 JUNGLE GARDEN
Another environment that could have come right out of Dawn is the Jungle Garden. Find a plant
in the Jungle Garden that is from Peru, Brazil or other places in South America. Note the
botanical name and number of the plant you selected. Sketch or photograph the plant, describe
it and then research the plant before you turn in this assignment. (Does it have flowers, what
other kinds of plants are around it, and what distinguishes it from its surroundings?) Using your
information technology skills, list one primary source in MLA format that tells you more about
the plant you picked. Select a direct quotation from the sources that tells you something about
the jungle environment in which your plant is found. Read more about the Desert Garden Here:
"A Passion for Cycads"
Now, go back to the description of Stop 1 and select your filming location.
Write your notes here:
Write your notes here: