
“The Museum At Your Side” is a collection of hands-on activities, informative articles, and engaging videos to connect you with nature and science wherever you are!
Below are all of our activities at a glance:
- How to Make a Plant Press
- A Cyclist’s Guide to the Wildflowers of Santa Cruz
- Schwan Lake Guided Walk
- On the Rocks: The Equinox Elixir
- Collections Close-Up: The Life and Legacy of Randall Morgan
- Exhibit Opening Reception: The Art of Nature
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: The Moon!
- Rare Plants and Community Science in the CZU Burn Zone with Amy Patten
- New Perspectives on the Past Through Freshly Exposed Rocks
- Mini Museum Exhibit Project | 2nd Grade
- A Guide to the Fossils of Santa Cruz County
- How to Make a Spore Print
- Ten Years Since the Tsunami with the UCSC Seismology Lab
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Biogenic Geology
- Coyote Skull Activity | K-3 Grade
- Long-term lessons: Perspectives on three years of mushroom monitoring in the Santa Cruz Mountains with Christian Schwarz
- Rock Record: The Faults that Shape Santa Cruz
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: The Varieties of Volcanoes
- Collections Close-Up: Picturing Nature
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Paleoclimatology
- On the Rocks: The Solstice Sip
- Rock Record: Guide to the Swift Street Outcrop
- Naturalist Night: Santa Cruz Sandhills
- Collections Close-Up: Tide Pools and Touch
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Ice Ages
- Fire and Mud: Why Fires Cause Debris Flows in California with Noah Finnegan
- Rock Record: Santa Cruz Natural History in the Palm of your Hand
- On the Rocks: Pumpkin Pie Tai
- Naturalist Night: Coastal Prairies
- Collections Close-Up: The Interwoven History of Baskets and Museums
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Supercontinents
- Rock Record: Caverns of Time
- On the Rocks: Foraged Liqueur
- Nature Pumpkin Templates
- On the Rocks: The Macabre Martini
- Halloween Bingo
- Macabre Mushrooms: Ghouls of the Woods with Christian Schwarz
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Caves (Special Edition)
- The Basics of Taxidermy with Alex Krohn
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Building Appalachia
- Collections Close-Up: Curiosity Cabinets
- Museum of the Macabre
- Celebrating California Biodiversity Day!
- Naturalist Night: Redwood Forest
- Collections Close-Up: Santa Cruz Fossils and the People Who Dig ‘Em
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Impacts of Fire on Geologic Landscapes
- Naturalist Night: Intertidal Zone
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: 115 Years of Geologic History in Santa Cruz
- Collections Close-Up: Preserving Our Past
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Coastal Geology
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: California’s State Symbols
- Naturalist Night: Santa Cruz Habitats and History
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Sea Level Rise and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Volcanoes and Mass Extinctions
- How to See Comet NEOWISE
- How to Create a Moon Phenology Wheel
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Science Communication
- Collections Close-Up: Malacology
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Ask a Scientist
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Geologic Time Part Two
- Visualizing Science: Illustration and Beyond with Jen Christiansen
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Geologic Time Part One
- On the Subject of Seeds
- Summer Solstice Sun Prints
- Collections Close-Up: Kelp and Conservation
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Metamorphic Rocks
- Ocean Sing-Along
- Monterey Bay Algae Guide
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Sedimentary Rocks
- Observation Jar Activity
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Igneous Rocks
- Mini Museum Activity
- How To Draw a Flower Video
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: The Curious Case of the Three Rock Types
- Light Spectra Activity
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Minerals
- Phenology Wheel Activity
- Meet the Artist: Diane T Sands
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: A Geologist’s Toolkit
- Lecture: Data is Not the Destination with Christian Schwarz
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Santa Cruz Formations
- May Day Flower Crown Video Tutorial
- Nature Journal from Your Window
- Sound Map Activity
- Meet a Painting: Magnetic Mousing by Hajra Meeks
- Lecture: Exploring Science Through Art with Andrea Dingeldein
- Build a Bug Net Video Tutorial
- Bird Beak Activity | 2nd grade
- Animals in Their Habitat Activity | 2nd grade
- Plant Growth Observations Activity | 2nd Grade
- Meet a Painting: Plovers in the Dunes by Megan Gnekow
- Sourgrass Natural Dye Video Tutorial
- What’s In a Naturalist’s Backpack?
- Weather Observation Activity | 3rd grade
- Skull Detectives Activity | 2-3 grade
- Science Illustration Prompt: Engage Your Senses
- Community Connections
- Santa Cruz Nature Bingo
- Museum Coloring Book