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.
- 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
- Rock Record: Caverns of Time
- On the Rocks: Foraged Liqueur
- On the Rocks: The Macabre Martini
- Macabre Mushrooms: Ghouls of the Woods with Christian Schwarz
- The Basics of Taxidermy with Alex Krohn
- Collections Close-Up: Curiosity Cabinets
Activities for Kids
Family-friendly and youth-focused activities, videos, articles, and more to aid in your nature exploration! See more.
- 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
- How To Draw a Flower Video
- Light Spectra Activity
Resources for Teachers
Activities, worksheets, videos, and more developed to support standards and formal learning. See more.
- 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
- Food Web Activity | 3-5 grade
- Great Horned Owl Activity | 3-5 grade
- Tree Canopy Activity | 4-5 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: 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
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: California’s State Symbols
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Sea Level Rise and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet
- Rockin’ Pop-Up: Volcanoes and Mass Extinctions