fbpx

Upcoming Events

5/18 Field Sketching Workshop: Coastal Explorations with Tina Somers

Inspired by coastal views, flora, and fauna — this class is an opportunity to develop field sketching skills in a gorgeous setting of Natural Bridges.  Students will be guided in composition as well as techniques like watercolor, pencil, and pen & ink to help capture their experiences on the pages of their sketchbooks. All levels welcome. Basic materials will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring their favorite nature journaling and field sketching tools, such as a journal, watercolor palette, pencils, pens, etc.

Saturday, May 18, 2024
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: Natural Bridges State Beach (meeting location shared upon registration)

$15 Museum Members | $25 General

Register

Email events@santacruzmuseum.org with any questions, accommodation requests, or if you have trouble registering

Accessibility

  • Be prepared to walk on uneven terrain and sand for up to a few miles and sit on the ground. You are welcome to bring chairs, stools, pads.
  • Wear layers and be prepared to be out in the sun and coastal wind for long stretches of time.
  • Leave your doggos and pets at home.
  • There are restrooms available at this location.
  • Basic materials will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring their favorite nature journaling and field sketching tools, such as a journal, watercolor palette, pencils, pens, hand lenses, etc.
  • Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Registration fees apply to all ages.
  • Follow the latest guidelines for health and safety at the time of the event.

About the Artist

Tina Fuller Somers is a multi-disciplinary artist who combines her passion for art, nature, and science to create unique and inspiring works. With a BA in Painting and a Master’s Certification in Science Illustration, Tina has developed a diverse skill set that allows her to tackle a wide range of projects with confidence and creativity through her business, Hawk & Hammer Creative Studio. From field guides to woodblock prints and murals, she brings a distinctive perspective to her art that reflects her deep respect and appreciation for the natural world. As a mother and nature lover born and raised in Santa Cruz, Tina is driven by a desire to share her art with others and to promote a deeper connection to the world around us.

To see more of her work, check out www.hawkandhammer.com or follow @hawkandhammergram

This program is in support of our annual exhibit, The Art of Nature, on view March 23-May 26, 2024.

5/15 Collections Club: Ice Age Exploration

Join us for an evening exploration of exciting new developments in the Museum’s paleontology collections, with a deeper dive into recent Ice Age fossil discoveries including the Jefferson’s ground sloth. Kathleen Ashton, the Museum’s Collection Manager, and Wayne Thompson, the Museum’s Paleontology Advisor, will present insights and discoveries from our fossil collection and discuss their importance to our understanding of the region’s deep past.

Wednesday May 15, 2024

5:30 – 6:30 P.M.

Location: Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
Light refreshments provided

Register
This is a Club level Member-only event. Join or Upgrade your Membership today!

5/11 Nature Club: Arana Gulch, Santa Cruz Harbor, and Spring Wildflowers

Spring wildflowers abound at Arana Gulch! We will explore the 63 acre open space observing wildlife, exploring forests and fields, and walking around the adjacent Santa Cruz Harbor to look for marine and avian wildlife. The Museum will provide binoculars for each participant.

Saturday, May 11th | 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Neary Lagoon
Ages: 6th-8th grade

$10 General |$ 5 Members

Register

If you are not a Member yet, explore Museum Membership here

What is Nature Club?

Nature Club takes young explorers (6th-8th Grade) into local habitats to learn about the amazing living world around us while making discoveries along the way. Programs are led by Museum staff with kids dropped off at rotating locations, including local parks, open spaces, and of course at the Museum! Exploration and activities help kids learn more about nature through observation and experience while developing a deeper connection to nature and making new friends.

What to Expect

Programs run from 10:00 a.m -12:30 p.m. The Museum does not provide transportation to offsite meeting spots, and participants should be dropped off and picked up by parents/guardians. Some programs may be physically rigorous. Please email chris.soriano@santacruzmuseum.org if you have questions about trail accessibility. Programs occur rain or shine, barring extreme weather.

Safety

Nature Club will run in compliance with state and county guidance for health and safety. Participants should not attend if they have been coughing, have a fever, or had recent contact with someone with a positive COVID-19 test.

Scholarships available!

5/10 Teacher Open House

Enjoy snacks and refreshments while exploring our resources and viewing The Art of Nature exhibit. Participants will gain early access to field trip registration and a presentation about teaching scientific illustration. You will also have the chance to win raffle prizes, including free field trip resources, gift certificates from local businesses, and more. Additionally, participants will enjoy a 15% discount at the museum store. While our resources are designed with grades K-5 in mind, all teachers are welcome to enjoy this event.

Friday, May 10, 2024 5-7 p.m.

Location: Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

Register

Speakers

Chris Soriano

Field and Program Coordinator

Hannah Caisse

Education Associate

Topic: How to teach Science Illustration

The science illustration kit is ideal for 2nd-5th grade. Explore the intersection of art and science through activities focused on observing and exploring nature. Activities include nature journaling, specimen sketching, science illustration, and more.

Sponsors

5/3 First Friday | Maker’s Market

First Fridays are back at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History! Join us for monthly after hours events on the First Friday of the month. Enjoy free admission 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with special festivities in the evening.

May’s First Friday will celebrate the Museum’s annual science illustration exhibit, The Art of Nature alongside an outdoor Maker’s Market with artists featured in the exhibit. Support them by going home with prints, stickers, cards, cups, and more! Food from Areperia 831 and a bar will be located inside the Museum.

Friday, May 3, 2024
4-8 p.m.
FREE Admission
Location: The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History and Tyrrell Park

Featured Artists

Brett Bell
Cady DeLay
Elizabeth Romanini
Jonathan Broberg
Kaelin O’Hare
Kylene Gilmore
Lora Roame
Megan Gnekow
Rebecca Botelho
Suzy Radonsky
Tina Fuller Somers
Cam Cox

4/20 Saturdays in the Soil

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s Garden Learning Center and Pilkington Creek.

Saturday, April 20, 2024 | 10 a.m. to noon
Every third Saturday at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

Email volunteer@santacruzmuseum.org to RSVP. Space is limited.

What to Expect

  • This project requires volunteer support with general landscaping, occasional watering, weeding, and replanting.
  • Please let us know if you need special accommodations when you email to RSVP.
  • This program happens rain or shine, but we will cancel in the case of muddy conditions or inclement weather.
  • All ages are welcome; children under 14 require adult supervision. Volunteers under 18 require a parent/guardian to sign waivers.
  • Please follow latest guidelines for covid safety at the time of the program.

1/12-1/14 50th Anniversary Santa Cruz Fungus Fair

The wait is over! After a three-year hiatus, we are thrilled to announce that the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair is returning to London Nelson this January. The Museum is proud to be co-presenting this 50th Anniversary celebration with the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz who helped us launch the inaugural event at the Museum in 1974. Together we’re bringing back this unique Santa Cruz institution for what we hope is its best year yet!

Mark your calendars for January 12-14, 2024 and visit ffsc.us for more information.

Thank you to our sponsors Peninsula Open Space Trust and Hilltromper.

About the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair

Come to Santa Cruz and explore the facinating world of Fungi. Learn interesting and fun facts about the hundreds of beautiful and fascinating species of mushrooms found in the Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Area. Fungi will be beautifully displayed in a re-created woodland habitat. This unique Santa Cruz tradition features three days of fantastic fun, informative speakers and demonstrations, with fungal activities for the whole family.

The Fungus Fair is held each year in January in Santa Cruz at the London Nelson Community Center. This three day event features hundreds of species of local fungi presented in a unique fashion, and draws thousands of visitors each year. The Fair showcases speakers, a special Kids’ Room, and a taxonomy panel for identification of fungi you find. Many books and mushroom-related items are available for sale, as are wild mushroom delicacies.

Did you know that without fungus, we’d have no bread, cheese, beer, or wine? Or that anti-cholesterol medicine was developed from mushrooms? Come to the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair to learn all there is to know about the fascinating world of mushrooms.

This unique Santa Cruz tradition features fantastic fungus fun for the whole family. Bring the kids and stroll through a re-created woodland forest displaying hundreds of wild mushrooms; the Fungus Fair also features a special room full of hands-on activities for the kids, including fungus exploration tables, clay mushroom building, face painting, and more!

Fungi Fundamentals: Mushrooms of the Bay Area with Christian Schwarz and POST (watch recording)

The unique ecosystem of the Bay Area’s coastal redwoods provides an ideal setting for mushrooms to flourish. Join us for a cap-tivating online event as we explore and uncover more about the fungal landscape. 🍄

In collaboration with Peninsula Open Space Trust, we invite you to a special online event featuring guest speaker Christian Schwarz, co-author of “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast.” Whether you’re a fungi first-timer or fanatic, Christian will guide us through the fundamentals of mushroom science and share his insights on these remarkable organisms. This event will be tailored for audiences in high school and beyond.

Join POST, SCMNH, and mushroom scientist Christian Schwarz for an informational tour through the fungal landscape in the Bay Area. This 90-minute webinar will be interactive and provide the audience with many opportunities to spore their curiosity by asking our speaker your fungi-est questions. We can’t wait for you to come along with us on this journey to uncover all the mysteries about mushrooms. Register to receive instructions on how to join us for this fantastic fungal virtual event.

Eager to start learning about mushrooms? Check out POST’s blog about 9 Wild Mushrooms Worth Remembering to get you started – there might be a pop quiz during the event!

Cover photo by Christian Schwarz

About the Speaker

Christian Schwarz studied Ecology and Evolution at UC Santa Cruz, where his interest in the world of fungi became irrevocable – their seemingly endless forms (from the grotesque to the bizarre to the sublime) feed his curiosity. He is co-author of Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, and now spends his time seeking, photographing, collecting, teaching about, and publishing research on the macrofungi of California and Arizona. He is Collections Lead for the California Fungal Diversity Survey, and is a research associate of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. He has also served on the IUCN Red List Working Group for North American Fungi, advocating for habitat conservation focused on fungi. He is passionate about biodiversity in general, and especially in the philosophy and practice of community science (especially through the use of iNaturalist).

Meet the Co-Hosts

The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting people with nature and science to inspire stewardship of the natural world. Founded on the collection of naturalist Laura Hecox, it is the oldest public museum in Santa Cruz, founded in 1905. The Museum features hands-on educational exhibits and events indoors, outdoors, and online for people of all ages to discover and learn about the natural history of this region. Learn more about the Museum and plan your visit at santacruzmuseum.org. We invite you to follow the Museum on social media for updates about events and the natural wonders of our region.

Peninsula Open Space Trust protects and cares for open space, farms and parkland in the Peninsula and South Bay. Since 1977, POST has protected over 86,000 acres in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties.

1/10 Nature Journal Studio

Nature journaling can help us view the natural world with new perspectives, learn about our surroundings, and see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

During Nature Journal Studio sessions at the Museum, Melinda Nakagawa will guide you through a topic as we practice skills in a group setting and share our learning with others. We will develop observation skills and awareness of nature, improve sketching skills, and practice strategies to bring the 3-dimensional world onto the page. Rather than an art class, nature journaling is about observation, curiosity, wonder, and honing these abilities.

Wednesday, January 10, 2024
6:30-8 p.m.

Location: Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
Free with Admission*

Register


*Free for Members and Youth under 18 | $4 General | $2 Students and Seniors

Email events@santacruzmuseum.org with any questions, accommodation requests, or if you have trouble registering.

Accessibility and COVID protocol

  • All experience levels are welcome. Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
  • It is likely that the programs will take place inside the Museum, but sometimes sessions are held outside (details in confirmation email).
  • Follow the latest guidelines for covid safety.
  • Basic materials are provided, but feel free to bring your favorite nature journal tools.
  • Please leave your pets at home. Trained service animals are permitted.
  • Review more details on our Accessibility page.

About Melinda Nakagawa

Melinda Nakagawa is a biologist, naturalist, and educator with a passion and skill for connecting people to nature. She founded Spark in Nature to guide participants to cultivate a deeper relationship with the natural world, slowing down to nature’s pace and seeing rather than just looking at the world.

With an approach that bridges nature, art, and heart, she welcomes all people regardless of their skill level or background. Through her gentle guidance, hundreds of participants have awakened their spark of curiosity, sense of wonder, and connection to the natural world.

Melinda has partnered with local institutions such as the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium and Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History to lead educator trainings on nature journaling. She leads the Monterey Bay Nature Journal Club’s free online Sunday sessions.

She has an M.S. degree in Marine Science, and has also worked as a naturalist guide, floral designer, and wildlife rehabilitator. For the past two decades Melinda has kept nature journals and continues to learn more from nature with each journal she fills.

Nature journal examples by Melinda Nakagawa.

Naturalist Night | Animals Underground: The Burrowing and Cave Dwelling Creatures of the Santa Cruz Mountains with Matt Sharp Chaney and Alex Jones (watch recording)

Beneath our feet is a world of creatures seldom seen. Join local experts for this set of short presentations at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History exploring the mysteries of the underground. Alex Jones, UC Santa Cruz Campus Natural Reserve Manager, will share the secrets of UC Santa Cruz’s karst caves and burrowing insects, while Matt Sharp Chaney, Midpen Wildlife Biologist, will share stories of salamanders and squirrels, badgers and broad-footed moles, kangaroo rats and kingfishers, and more.

This program is in support of the new exhibit, Underground: Unearthing Unseen Worlds, and is presented in partnership with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

Matt Sharp Chaney is a Wildlife Biologist and the Lead Mammologist for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) where he has worked for the past 8 years. Prior to working at Midpen Matt worked as an Educational Assistant at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History and he is excited to return for this Naturalist Night. Matt received a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from California State University Monterey Bay in 2015, and a master’s certificate in wildlife management from Oregon State University in 2018. Midpen manages over 65,000 acres of public preserves located within the Santa Cruz Mountains along the San Francisco Peninsula. Matt’s work focuses on the conservation of native mammal species from bats, to kangaroo rats, to mountain lions. 

Alex Jones has been an environmental educator for 25 years, practicing natural history while leading students ranging from preschoolers to senior citizens, though he traces his naturalist roots to his own childhood experiences of playing with mud, scaring ducks, and hiding in the shrubbery. Alex currently works as the UC Santa Cruz Campus Natural Reserve Manager and supports education, research, and stewardship activities on campus natural lands. He brings his passion for natural history, ecology, and stewardship to UCSC students through undergraduate course field trips, internships, and volunteer opportunities. As part of his duties, Alex is responsible for monitoring and managing for the federally endangered Ohlone tiger beetle populations that occur on the UCSC campus. Prior work has given him the opportunity to participate in inventories and studies involving plants, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds in the eastern and western US.

Accessibility

  • The event will occur inside the Museum and is wheelchair accessible.
  • Restrooms, water fountains, and light snacks will be available.
  • Parking is first-come-first-served in the neighborhood. Bike parking is available near the museum entrance.
  • This program will be in English.
  • If we are able to record the program, it will be added to this webpage after the event.
  • Masks are not currently required indoors, but we will alert registrants if an increase in covid transmission rates triggers that requirement.
  • Reasonable accommodation requests can be made by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org.

Photo credit Matt Sharp Chaney, Alex Jones, Santa Clara County Parks, and Christine Fielding.