Recent Events At The Museum
Super Summer Saturdays Underway!
 Photo: Katie Freeman |
Looking for a fun activity for the whole family these lazy summer Saturdays? Come visit the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History for exciting presentations and programs about wild animals and insects from local experts. Already this summer we've enjoyed a presentation about falcons (pictured here) by the Predatory Bird Research Group that attracted a capacity crowd.
Drop in anytime between 11 am and 1 pm to participate! Ages 6 and up; parents must accompany their children. Except for July 15th, admission is required; children under 18 are free. Call the Museum at 831-420-6115 for more information.
|
Saturday, July 8
Beautiful Bats
Join us at the Museum for a visit with live bats from the Califonia Bat Conservation Fund! This is one of our most popular programs, and we're pleased to be able to offer it again this year.
Saturday, July 15
Sensational Snakes
We'll hang out with our snake expert and check out some amazing snakes up close and personal. Come learn about what makes these slithery reptiles so cool!.
Saturday, July 22
Seymour Center's Education Program: Marine Mammals
The Seymour Center's education program will present an interactive exploration of marine mammals (no live animals—but really cool!)
Saturday, July 29
Mountain Lion Foundation: Mountain Lions
 |
Come learn about how important the mountain lion is, and what you can do to help protect them! (no live animals — but really cool!)
Saturday, August 5
UCSC's Life Lab Program: Honey Bees
You know where the honey is! Right here! Come join us for an exploration of bees and honey, and check out our live hive!
Santa Cruz Surfing Museum Celebrates 20 Years
 Photo: Katie Freeman |
The noon hour of May 27, 2006 marked the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, the world’s first Surfing Museum! On hand to mark the occasion were Surfing Museum Founders Dave Dyc, Dan Young, Boots McGhee and Kim Stoner, original Santa Cruz Surfing Club members and volunteer docents Harry Mayo and Bob Gillies, as well as Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Mathews, and Council Member Mike Rotkin. Mayor Mathews proclaimed May 27th, 2006 as “Santa Cruz Surfing Museum 20th Anniversary Day” in the City of Santa Cruz. Kim Stoner outlined the history of surfing in Santa Cruz, beginning in 1885 with three Hawaiian princes who surfed the Rivermouth, becoming the first to surf the North American Continent. Wonderful entertainment was provided by the Pleasure Point Brass Band who rocked the audience with surf favorites and Dixie-land jazz.
Many thanks to those who helped prepare for the event: Crystal Birns, Dave Dyc, Harry Mayo, Peter Ogilvie, Ward Smith, Dan Young, Kim Stoner and Ryan Rittenhouse. Many thanks to Surf City Coffee, the Bagelry, and Trader Joes for donations of refreshments.
Centennial Exhibit
 Photo from the Centennial Exhibit |
Celebrating 100 Years of wonders and delights!
October 2005 through April 1, 2006
Come to the museum to see photos and artifacts from the last 100 years and read about the history of the museum and celebrating nature in Santa Cruz County.
Secrets of Nature Lecture Series
Mark your calendar now for three Wednesdays in February! Featuring UCSC Faculty and Graduate Students and their research findings on the "Secrets of Nature."
SSSecrets of the SSSnakes of SSSanta Cruz Wednesday, February 8, with BARRY SINERVO, herpetologist, and behavioral ecologist and MITCH MULKS, graduate student. Secrets to be discovered include the hunting behaviors of snakes like the California Kingsnake and the Red Racer, plus revealing information about snake color patterns, and more!
Restoring the Animals Wednesday, February 15, with TERRIE WILLIAMS, vertebrate physiologist and JIM ESTES, USGS biologist and UCSC researcher on marine community ecology. What big predatory animals, on land and in the seas, need to survive in this ever changing world will be revealed. A radical proposal to re-wild North America with megafauna to replace what ws lost after the Pleistocene and restore the ecology of our natural systems will be unfurled.
Birds as Parents Wednesday, February 22, with BRUCE LYON,ornithologist and specialist in bird nesting behaviors. Come discover the little known secrets of bird nesting and parenting, including brood parasitism, cooperation and conflict in coot families and alloparental behavior.
All three lectures begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Louden Nelson Community Center
Members: $7.00 per lecture or $15.00 for the entire series
General: $10.00 per lecture or $21.00 for the entire series
Students & Seniors: $8.00 per lecture or $17.00 for the entire series
No advance ticket sales. Admission to each lecture charged at the door. For more information on all three lectures, call 831 420-6115.
Frans Lanting "Out of Africa" Slide Show/Lecture
Saturday March 25, 2006 3pm and 7pm at the Rio Theatre
©Frans Lanting |
For more than twenty years Frans Lanting has traveled in and out of Africa to chronicle its wildlife, people, and environmental issues for National Geographic and many other publications. This year he takes us on a grand tour that covers the continent as he has experienced it.
In his new presentation, Frans will lead us on a personal journey from the savannas of East Africa in to the forests of the Congo Basin, through the arid lands of Namibia, along the Mediterranean coast of South Africa, and into the interior of the Kalahari desert. Our journey will culminate in a remote part of Zambia where Frans has been working this part year on a new project that profiles a spectacular wildlife sanctuary few people have heard of yet.
Join us for an afternoon or evening of African discoveries and insights from one of the world's great photographers and storytellers on Saturday, March 25 with show times at 3pm and 7pm at the Rio Theater.
Sales will begin on February 25, 2006, one month before the show.
This year we are selling tickets through the Santa Cruz Civic Box Office only.
The Civic Box Office phone number is 831 420-5260.
Volunteer Now! 
Download form 