Hillcrest Tutors

About Hillcrest

Hillcrest, is a vibrant San Diego neighborhood, known for its, “everyone is welcome,” motto. Located right underneath Hillcrest is the famous Balboa Park. Balboa Park is the largest urban cultural park in North America. The park consists of twelve thousand acres of land dedicated to recreation, and is the home of many outdoor gardens, nature trails, green belts, museums, theatres, restaurants, gift shops, and the one and only San Diego Zoo. The land was reserved in 1835, making it one of the oldest recreational reserves in the U.S.

The San Diego Zoo takes up one hundred acres of Balboa Park, and is home to over 3,700 animals and 700,000 exotic plants. Impressively, more than 3.2 million people visit the San Diego Zoo each year; making it the most popular zoo in the U.S. One major success of the San Diego Zoo was the creation of open air habitats. The San Diego Zoo was the first zoo to use a moat to keep animals in, instead of a cage. The first open air exhibit was the lion area which opened in 1922. Surprisingly, only a small number of animals have escaped from the San Diego Zoo, considering the amount of animals cared for and how long the zoo has used its moated exhibit method. The most famous escapee is Ken Allen a crafty orangutan nicknamed, ”the hairy Houdini.” Ken Allen was raised by caretakers at the San Diego Zoo and began his escapades early in life. While still being cared for in the Children’s Zoo Nursery, Allen would unscrew the netting from his, “child proof” playpen and escape to play in the nursery at night. He would return to his playpen before caretakers arrived in the mornings and screw the netting back in place! As he grew older, he would continue to find new ways to escape his enclosure and even tutored another monkey in how to use a branch as a crowbar to wedge open an escape route. Ken Allen was never a threat and didn't cause trouble when he escaped; he seemed to consider the whole thing a great game and was usually found waiting by the enclosure to be let back inside. Allen passed away in 2000 but lives on as a local legend.

From the San Diego Zoo to Balboa park and beyond, there is so much to see in Hillcrest, San Diego. Hillcrest tutors are available to help anyone and everyone reach their educational goals. Like, “the hairy houdini,” Hillcrest tutors are ready to help you out, however you are stuck. With your hard work and their support, you can achieve great things.