Rockin’ Pop-Up: The Sun, Astroids, and Comets

After two years and 35 programs, this month’s Rockin’ Pop-Up will be our final installment. Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, one last time for an exploration of our solar system. This third installment of our solar system trilogy will end at the beginning, examining how the sun, asteroids, and comets help us understand the origin of our solar system. Watch part one about the terrestrial planets and part two about the giants.

About the Series: Join the Geology Gents, Gavin Piccione and Graham Edwards, for monthly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each month we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. Submit your questions ahead of time by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org and feel free to include pictures of rocks you’d like identified! Note: you do not need to have a Facebook account to be able to watch the program live.

Watch Past Pop-Ups
Read our blog Rock Record

Reptiles and Amphibians of the West with Charles Hood

California is home to almost eighty species of “herps” — reptiles and amphibians. Get to know some of our common and uncommon neighbors, while digging into groundbreaking research about how lizards communicate (and explore the world) in wavelengths of color invisible to the human eye. From gila monsters to the common fence lizard of your backyard, the world of reptiles and amphibians will come alive during this presentation with Charles Hood, author of the new book Sea Turtles to Sidewinders and A Californian’s Guide to the Birds Among Us, and PhD candidates Jose Gabriel Martinez Fonseca (Northern Arizona University) and Erin Westeen (UC Berkeley).

Resources

Charles Hood is a Fulbright scholar, a former National Science Foundation Artist-in-Residence in Antarctica, and an author of Wild LA.

José Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca is a Nicaraguan biologist and wildlife photographer who has worked with amphibians and reptiles for over 12 years. He is currently a PhD student at Northern Arizona University.

Erin Westeen has done extensive fieldwork across western North America and the Neotropics and is currently a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley, where she studies spiny lizards.

Collections Close-Up: Old Time Oology

All of our collections are special, but some of them are egg-squisite. The study of eggs and nests, historically referred to as oology, is a rich vein in the story of natural history museums. Museum egg collections have played a large role in critical conservation conversations, and continue to be relevant for contemporary research. True to this larger history — from mighty ostrich to minuscule hummingbird eggs, from 19th century birders to current digitization projects — eggs are an important part of your local natural history museum.

During this Collection Close-Up webinar, join Collections Manager Kathleen Aston on an exploration of our egg collection from the 1880s to the 1980s and beyond. We’ll also look at how birds feature in our current priorities, from community science to youth education.

Resources

About the series

Zoom into the stories, secrets, and science of our collections during monthly webinars with Collections Manager Kathleen Aston. This live event is an extension of our monthly Collections Close-Up blog, with added insights and intrigue. Members are invited to participate in this program before it is made available to the general public as well as ask questions directly of Kathleen.

Not yet a Member? Join today!

Your support helps us steward our collections and offer educational programs that connect people with nature and science. Memberships start at just $15/year.

How Everyone Can Contribute to Pollinator Conservation with the Xerces Society

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats through scientific research. They focus on pollinator conservation, endangered species conservation, and reducing pesticide use and impacts.

For this talk, Maddy Kangas, Monarch Butterfly Conservation Planner with the Xerces Society, will share:

• The status of pollinators, including monarch butterflies, and need for conservation action
• Monarch biology and habitat requirements
• Land management practices to protect pollinators
• Examples of pollinator habitat projects
• How you can get involved (community science programs and more)
• Additional resources and Q&A 

Resources

About the Speaker

Maddy Kangas serves as a Monarch Butterfly Conservation Planner and NRCS Partner Biologist for the Central Coast of California as part of the Xerces Society, providing technical assistance on monarch conservation and habitat creation for producers, landowners, and land managers. Her previous work has included integrated pest and pollinator management, habitat restoration, and community outreach and education. Maddy completed her master’s degree in natural resources and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she researched both native bee community composition and pest insect presence within agriculturally based pollinator habitat restorations.

This program is in support of our new exhibit, Pollinators: Keeping Company With Flowers, on view January 15-March 6. Sponsored by 90.3 KAZU, Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History, and UCSC’s Center for Agroecology.

Rockin’ Pop-Up: The Giants of our Solar System

Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, for the second installment of a three-part trilogy exploring the planets of our solar system. March will examine the icy and gaseous planets known as “the giants” — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Watch part one about the terrestrial planets.

About the Series: Join the Geology Gents, Gavin Piccione and Graham Edwards, for monthly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each month we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. Submit your questions ahead of time by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org and feel free to include pictures of rocks you’d like identified! Note: you do not need to have a Facebook account to be able to watch the program live.

Watch Past Pop-Ups
Read our blog Rock Record

Short-billed Dowitcher

Scientific: Limnodromus grieus
Spanish: Becasina piquicorta

Diet: Worms, mollusks, crustaceans
Habitat: Wetlands, sloughs, estuaries, beaches
Status: Least Concern

Short-billed dowitchers use their long beaks to probe the soft mud in search of aquatic invertebrates.

Wetlands

← Shoreline to Summit

American Coot

Scientific: Fulica Americana
Spanish: Focha americana
Mutsun: Yuran

Diet: Aquatic plants, insects, snails, worms, tadpoles
Habitat: Wetlands, freshwater ponds
Status: Least Concern

Coots have specialized lobed feet that allow them to walk on soft mud without sinking while foraging for bits of vegetation.

Wetlands

← Shoreline to Summit

Western Pond Turtle

Scientific: Actinemys marmorata
Spanish: Tortuga occidental de estanque
Mutsun: Awnicmin

Diet: Algae, aquatic plant roots, insects, tadpoles, frog eggs
Habitat: Water with muddy bottoms in forests, woodlands and grasslands
Status: Threatened

These turtles are out-competed by invasive red-eared slider turtles, leading to their threatened status.

Wetlands

← Shoreline to Summit

Marine

The Coast and Ocean

The ocean supports life around the globe – it influences climate, weather and water cycles, and provides food and livelihoods for people worldwide. Although the ocean is vast, humans can play a major role in its health, no matter where they live.

The Monterey Bay is a marine sanctuary that hosts a diversity of life in a variety of interconnected habitats, from tidepools to kelp forests to underwater canyons. At least 36 different species of marine mammals pass through or reside in Monterey Bay. Just like mammals that live on land, they breathe air and must have adaptations to survive the cold ocean habitat.

Learn More

Video: Intertidal Zone Habitat Overview
Video: On Kelp and Conservation
Video: Geology of the Ocean Floor
Video: Collections Close-Up on Malacology
Video: Motion of the Oceans and Atmosphere
Resource: Monterey Bay Algae Guide

Visit Local Tide Pools

Natural Bridges
Pleasure Point
Davenport
Bean Hollow
← Shoreline to Summit

Redwood Forest

Enormous Trees, With Few Neighbors

Redwood forests have existed all over the world for millions of years, but as the global climate has changed, so has their range. In the U.S. these forests now only occupy a coastal belt from Central California into Oregon. Redwood trees have adaptations for capturing moisture directly from the air, and occur in wet canyons and other wind-protected locations cooled by summer fog. The large redwood trees create a cool, densely shaded environment and deep organic litter on the forest floor. Plants and animals that live in these forests are adapted to a dark, damp environment.

The nearby Big Basin Redwoods State Park was California’s first state park, created in 1902. Why might the redwoods and redwood forests have needed protection at that time?

Learn More

Video: Coast Redwoods and Fire
Video: Redwood Forest Habitat Overview
Video: Mushrooms of the Santa Cruz Mountains
Activity: Tree Canopy Measuring
Blog: Humphrey Pilkington, Big Basin State Park Warden
Students on a field trip in Pogonip
Education Resources: Nature Rangers Program

Visit Local Redwoods

Henry Cowell State Park
Forest of Nisene Marks
Byrne-Milliron Forest
Butano State Park
← Shoreline to Summit