Our Collections
Collections are the very heart of the Museum
The meticulous preservation of biological, ethnographic, and historic artifacts allows for the creation of educational and informative exhibits. More importantly, these items act as windows into the past and are preserved for the Santa Cruz community for generations to come. As the Museum is housed in an historic Carnegie Library building (circa 1915), our size accommodates only a small percentage of our collections on display at a given time. However, our collection currently contains over 16,000 specimens and artifacts!
Many pieces of the Museum’s collection may be accessed for scholarly study upon request. Artists are always welcome to study and draw specimens on display to the public (general admission fees apply). The founding collection of the Museum, consisting of shells and other marine life collected at the turn of the 20th century by lighthouse keeper Laura Hecox, are currently on display in the Museum gallery. Interested in donating items to our collection or funds to support its preservation? Just get in touch. Please always make an appointment before bringing objects to the Museum
Laura Hecox
Museum FounderLaura was the Santa Cruz lighthouse keeper from 1883 to 1916, and a renowned collector whose lighthouse museum was known far and wide. Contemporary descriptions in newspapers, correspondence, and other publications describe a stunning collection that occupied a room’s worth of cabinets on subjects from marine life to gems and minerals to ethnographic collections. Her collection of natural history specimens, artifacts, and curios was gifted to the people of Santa Cruz in 1904 and is the foundational collection of the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.
Collections Close-Up Blog
A series of blogs and videos providing a closer look at objects from the Museum’s collections.
