Community Resources | Activities for Kids | Resources for Teachers
Specimen Rentals and Kits
The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History is a great place to visit for nature and science exploration, and we want to join you as you continue to explore at home and outside.
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!
Community Resources
Activities, guides, lectures, workshops, guided nature experiences, and other resources to support your nature explorations from home or while outside. See more.
- A Guide to the Fossils of Santa Cruz County
- Collections Close-Up: Picturing Nature
- 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
- 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
Activities for Kids
Family-friendly and youth-focused activities, videos, articles, and more to aid in your nature exploration! See more.
- How to Make a Spore Print
- Coyote Skull Activity | K-3 Grade
- Nature Pumpkin Templates
- Halloween Bingo
- Celebrating California Biodiversity Day!
- How to Create a Moon Phenology Wheel
- Summer Solstice Sun Prints
- Ocean Sing-Along
- Observation Jar Activity
- Mini Museum Activity
Resources for Teachers
Activities, worksheets, videos, and more developed to support standards and formal learning. See more.
- Mini Museum Exhibit Project | 2nd Grade
- Coyote Skull Activity | K-3 Grade
- Bird Beak Activity | 2nd grade
- Animals in Their Habitat Activity | 2nd grade
- Plant Growth Observations Activity | 2nd Grade
- Weather Observation Activity | 3rd grade
- Skull Detectives Activity | 2-3 grade
- Ohlone Matching Game | 3-4 grade
- Pollinator Matching Activity | 2nd grade
- Great Horned Owl Activity | 3-5 grade
Rockin’ Pop-Up
Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, for monthly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each installment we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. See more.
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Biogenic Geology
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: The Varieties of Volcanoes
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Paleoclimatology
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Ice Ages
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Supercontinents
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Caves (Special Edition)
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Building Appalachia
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Impacts of Fire on Geologic Landscapes
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: 115 Years of Geologic History in Santa Cruz
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Coastal Geology