Join us to explore approximately 4 miles of trail in Pogonip, the largest open natural space in Santa Cruz. Enjoy beautiful views of Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay and learn about our local history by visiting the historic limekilns and examining redwood trees through the lens of time.
Saturday, December 4 | 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Location: PogonipOpen Space Ages: 6th-8th grade $10 |$5 Museum Members | Register
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 -12:00 p.m. and occur on the first Saturday of the month. 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 so 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. Masks will be required for all participants, regardless of vaccination status. Participants should not attend if they have been coughing, have a fever, or had recent contact with someone with a positive test.
Archaeologists can analyze charred seeds and other plant remains to learn about relationships between people and the natural world deep into the past. This talk will describe how a collaborative research project between Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, State Parks, and academic researchers utilized this type of information to explore how Indigenous peoples on the coast of San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties used prescribed burning to steward local landscapes. Guided by these findings, Amah Mutsun Land Trust is working to revitalize Indigenous-based stewardship of open spaces today.
Rob Cuthrell is a researcher in archaeology and historical ecology who has studied relationships between Indigenous people and landscapes west of the Santa Cruz Mountains for over a decade. Currently, Rob works as a consultant for Amah Mutsun Land Trust managing a native plant propagation and restoration project on Año Nuevo Point.
This program is in support of the exhibit Seeds: Nature’s Artful Engineering, on view at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History through November 28.
What do rocks have to do with the ocean and the atmosphere? Well, quite a lot it turns out! Join us for our next Rockin’ Pop-Up where the Geology Gents will simplify the complexities of these important earth systems.
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.
An Opportunity for Fire Survivors to Have Their Voices Heard
From residents to researchers, our community has put in countless hours recovering from the CZU Lightning Complex fires of August 2020. In addition to physical work in the burn zone, social scientists are also working towards better understanding how individuals respond to fire emergencies.
Santa Cruz resident Amanda Stasiewicz, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Wildfire Management and Policy at San José State University currently researching diverse resident experiences with the wildfire events, interactions with fire and emergency professionals, and how to improve the wildfire evacuation and management in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
“In my opinion, the social aspect is the most important part of the ‘fire problem’ to study!” says Stasiewicz. “A lot of people would describe the fire problem as a ‘people problem.’ Much of our wildfire circumstances are a product of over 120 years of fire suppression, the removal of Indigenous populations and land stewardship practices, and forest management policies that were not focused on fire ecology. How societies approach land management questions in fire-prone landscapes directly impacts fire risk or management decisions.”
In Stasiewicz’s early research, she found it fascinating how different people living in the same landscape often have diverse approaches for adapting to their changing environment. “I knew that I wanted to find a way to be involved in that kind of work in the future, to share best practices and the kind of partnerships people were creating to tackle their particular fire problem,” says Stasiewicz.
As a social scientist, her current research aims to provide a platform for individuals’ voices to be heard through an anonymous, in-depth process. She’s recruiting for the CZU Wildfire Event study, where residents impacted by both the CZU and SCU fires can share their experiences and thoughts about how we can improve wildfire management in the future.
“Looking across both fires (CZU and SCU) will allow me to explore management decisions, wildfire impacts, and recovery processes across different vegetation types and social contexts. Exploring how to improve large wildfire management and impacts into the future is particularly timely given our recent high-activity wildfire seasons and how many people are now exposed to wildfire risk. The second phase in a couple months will include a survey to solicit additional feedback. Initial findings will be ready to be shared as early as late winter/early spring!” says Stasiewicz.
Photo by Jason Seeley.
Have you been personally impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex fires? Consider sharing your perspective! Dr. Stasiewicz conducts interviews which typically take 20-120 minutes and can occur in-person, via Zoom, or by phone. If you wish to hear more about the study or have any questions about participation, please contact:
Emily grew up in Santa Cruz and has enjoyed its natural beauty throughout her life by going to the beach, hiking in the redwoods, and watching sunsets on the cliffs. She traveled to California’s Central Valley to run intercollegiate track and field and to obtain her Bachelor of Arts degree in Plant Biology at University of California, Davis. She discovered her enthusiasm for outdoor science education at the UC Davis Student Farm.
She strives to ignite curiosity and empathy for the natural world in every person she encounters, making her the perfect addition to our Museum team. Emily says, “I am excited to be surrounded by people who are as interested in nature and science as I am. I hope to learn more about local natural history and gain a deeper connection with my surroundings, and I am looking forward to sharing newfound knowledge with others.”
Emily is inspired by the creative force of nature that invites many different ways of living. As she says, “ It teaches us to be open, accepting, and that there is no single right answer.”
When not teaching science, Emily loves running on all the trails around Santa Cruz, from redwoods to cliffs to meadows, enjoying all the many different things to see.
Shelly was born in Santa Cruz, grew up in Sonoma County, and came right back to town the day she graduated high school. She went to UCSC for Sociology and has been working as a counselor for former foster youth since graduating. Shelly also took time off to do a bunch of wwoofing (world wide opportunities on organic farms) in New Zealand, Oregon, Hawaii, and around Europe.
This experience was driven by a huge interest in growing food, and most recently she worked on a sustainable agriculture certificate through Shone Farm. Shelly also works periodically for a few wineries in town helping out in the cellar when her friend winemakers need a hand. In addition to all this, she currently propagates succulents and rare house plants for a local nursery.
While these jobs all keep her busy, she is “very excited about her newest work here at the museum!” As a Visitor Service Representative, Shelly can be seen at the front desk of the Museum, primarily on Fridays. Her favorite things at the Museum are the beehive and its outdoor spaces.
Not surprisingly, she is most interested in botany and soil health and is inspired by nature’s tendency towards diversity and connectedness. Specifically, she is fascinated by mycorrhizae’s role in fungi/plant relationships, and the dynamic complexity of soil ecosystems.
“I am excited about the potential soil has to store carbon through regenerative farming practices, and plan to continue my education in this subject,” says Shelly. Next time you see Shelly at the Museum or around town, join us in welcoming her and be sure to nerd out with her about plants.
It’s hard to walk along many of our local beaches without encountering the fossilized forms of whales or sea lions and the ornate whorls of ancient shells. These old organisms are made visible, in part, by the effects of weathering and erosion. While these forces are active all the time, a good storm can come along and shake open whole new windows into the past.
Some fossils you can even find in our front yard, literally.
The large specimens situated on the whale statue (southern) side of the museum’s garden are, thematically, the remains of ancient whales from Purisima formation outcrops in Capitola. Between 4.4 and 5.5 million years old, these specimens include an ancient ribcage (see above image), whose head would be oriented towards the beach if it were still attached. And although skulls are always interesting, we are lucky to have such a complete ribcage. The inherent movement of the ocean, the activities of scavengers, as well as the potential for marine mammals to “bloat and float ” upon their demise, often result in the slow and scattered disarticulation of the organism. Speaking of skulls, the other two specimens on display in this part of the yard do contain whale skulls (below images left and center). If you look closely, you can see the visible ear bone in one, while the other is partially obscured by the phalanges of an ancient flipper.
Fossil whale skull
Fossil whale skull and phalanges
Fossil whale vertebrae and upper limbs
Other fossils tell the story of a different type of discovery – that of human intervention in the landscape. The specimens peeking through the Fuschia and hummingbird sage beneath our gift shop windows (above right image) take that story further, to the surprisingly intertwined history of paleontology and physics.
Fourteen million years ago, the coast of California was quite differently shaped. In parts of what is now terrestrial San Mateo County, a shallow, high-energy marine environment brimmed with life. Crustaceans burrowed in sand below swimming sharks and wandering whales. The organisms present, based on fossil evidence, indicate a nearshore to open shelf marine environment.
Fifty-seven years ago, a bulldozer cut a little too widely into the petrified remains of this ecosystem, a green-gray to light gray rock formation now called the Ladera Sandstone. In doing so, construction workers on what is now SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory discovered the remarkably well-preserved and almost complete skeleton of an ancient hippo-like creature now called Neoparadoxia repenningi. Prior to this discovery, this roughly cow-sized herbivore had only been known through specimens of preserved teeth. The value of the find became clearer and clearer as, with the efforts of experts from Stanford and USGS and beyond, all but the head of the organism emerged from the surrounding stone. The UC Museum of Paleontology at Berkeley (UCMP) agreed to curate this significant specimen in exchange for providing casts.
Adele Panofksy with Neoparadoxia model Courtesy SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
1977 Discovery Site Courtesy SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Adele and Bruce in 1977 Courtesy SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Casts which became the life’s work of the wife of SLAC’S then-director, Adele Panfosky. Alerted to the discovery when taking a phone message for her husband Wolfgang, Adele immediately drove to the site. What started as an opportunity for an interested volunteer without formal training to assist with excavation turned into a decades long quest by a budding paleontologist to create a complete and accurate Neoparadoxia model. Over the years Adele collaborated with scientists from around the world, ranging as far as Japan’s National Museum of Science and as close as local museum member Frank Perry, who cast some of the teeth for the display.
Fortunately for us, the Neoparadoxia wasn’t the only specimen uncovered at SLAC. In the late 1970s, the campus was expanded to include the Positron Electron Project or PEP ring, digging further into the Ladera Sandstone. All told, the remains of ancient whales, porpoises, sea lions and at least six different kinds of sharks were unearthed. Scientifically significant specimens were again sent to UCMP. When it came time to find a home for specimens that were more useful for educational display than science, Adele arranged for several to be gifted to our Museum here in Santa Cruz. You can still find these on display in our garden today, now with the additional context of the specimen descriptions provided here.
Concretion with several bone exposures; long narrow straight exposure may be a partial marine mammal mandible
Two specimens containing sections of whale mandible
Partial whale skull in ventral view
Cross section of whale cervical vertebra and fragments of other vertebra and upper limb bones. Fragment of humerus scapular joint preserved separately
Meanwhile at today’s SLAC, now with a new name and an expanded research profile, scientists are circling back to fossils once more, using advanced x-ray imaging techniques to determine the original colors of ancient creatures.
If you find these discoveries exciting, nurture your own passion for paleontology: check out our fossil guide to explore our local landscapes with fresh eyes, and join us for our October Collections Close-Up event, to be held on October 13th, National Fossil Day, all about Fossil Walruses and Other Ancient Life in the Monterey Bay with Dr. Robert Boessenecker.
For this month’s Out and About family day, we’re visiting Live Earth Farm! The team at Farm Discovery will lead families through seed saving and pumpkin carving as we visit with farm animals. Let’s strengthen connections with our local food system and community as we fully embrace the fall season!
Registration includes one pumpkin and apple snack per person. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the farm after the program ends.
Recommended for ages 5-10, but all ages are welcome. All youth must be accompanied by an adult.
Registration and fees are required for all individuals in attendance (youth and adult).
Since this program is for youth, we require all in attendance wear a mask.
CANCELLED Saturday, October 16 | 10 a.m. to noon Location: Live Earth Farm (meeting details shared upon registration) $15 per person (includes pumpkin and snack)
Out and About is a monthly series of family-friendly, small group get-togethers exploring Santa Cruz’s diverse natural spaces through guided activities.
Though our coast today is inhabited by sea lions, harbor seals, and elephant seals, none of these species existed in California 3-5 million years ago. Instead, fossils from the Purisima Formation tell a very different story of strange walruses and early fur seals that inhabited our coast. These include the ancestor of the modern northern fur seal (today a rare visitor to Monterey Bay), the bizarre “double tusked” walrus Gomphotaria, and the toothless walrus Valenictus. Several discoveries made by local collectors and paleontologists represent new species — and you’re going to hear new data and findings never reported before during this presentation.
Join us on National Fossil Day for this member-exclusive presentation with longtime friend of the Museum, Dr. Robert Boessenecker.
Dr. Robert Boessenecker
“I grew up in Foster City on the peninsula, disappointed as a dinosaur nerd kid that there weren’t much in the way of dino fossils from California – which I mistook for “no interesting fossils at all”. Once in high school I visited some shark tooth sites in Scott’s Valley and became obsessed with marine mammal fossils none of the fossil collectors could identify. As an undergraduate student at Montana State University, I started collecting and researching a marine mammal fauna I discovered in Half Moon Bay; I continued with my master’s thesis at MSU on the preservation and stratigraphic context of Purisima Formation fossils, and then went to University of Otago in New Zealand to do my Ph.D. on early baleen whales from much older rocks down under. I have been at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, studying early baleen whales and dolphins, and once again researching Purisima Formation sharks, fish, birds, turtles, and marine mammals.”
-Dr. Robert Boessenecker
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.
Your support helps us steward our collections and offer educational programs that connect people with nature and science. Memberships start at just $15/year.
Some rocks are just stone cold killers. From asbestos to cinnabar, our natural world is full of toxic minerals, many of which appear in our everyday lives. Kick-off the Halloween season by digging into the dangerous side of geology during this month’s Rockin’ Pop-Up with Gavin and Graham — the Geology Gents.
Photo of Cinnabar (Credit: Dakota Matrix)
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.
