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Safari September

Cancelled- A Brush with Conservation: Protecting Wildlife Through Art

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

This Safari September lecture is all about advocacy through art! Join celebrated artists and naturalists as they share the impact their masterpieces have on conservation education, international endangered species policies, and how they translate conservation science to the canvas. As a behind-the-scenes bonus, they will debut their newest works of art before and after their...

Sea Otter Awareness Week Day 2

Lighthouse Point 701 W Cliff Dr, , CA, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

Every year, Sea Otter Awareness Week takes place during the last full week of September to celebrate and inspire deeper awareness of these marine mammals. The week is organized by Defenders of Wildlife, Sea Otter Savvy, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Find Museum Naturalists at Lighthouse Point and participate in sea otter...

Safari September

The Ancient American Cheetah

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

For Safari September’s grand finale, travel back in time to learn the mysteries of the prehistoric American Cheetah! Discover how this extinct top predator once dominated ancient North America and why it no longer exists. Using cutting-edge paleogenomics research, uncover how scientists use prehistoric data to inform future conservation efforts. After the presentation, Dr. Josh...

Featured Pleistocene Pop-Up

First Friday: Fossil Frenzy

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

Every year, October 15th is National Fossil Day. But why limit the fun to just a day? At the Museum, we’re turning it into a month-long celebration of fossils with a Pleistocene Pop-Up exhibit and events! Our Fossil Frenzy First Friday will showcase paleontologists, geologists, and scientific illustrators with a fossil focus. Bring your mystery...

3 people working in a garden
Saturdays in the Soil

Saturdays in the Soil

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s...

Pleistocene Pop-Up

Fossil Family Fun Day

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

Join your friends at the Museum as we put the “pal” in paleontology at this Pleistocene Pop-Up family fun festival all about fossils! Meet geologists, paleontologists, naturalists, and artists for an afternoon of family-friendly fun, activity stations, fossil interactives, and so much more. Featured programs throughout the day include a fossil identification station, a Rockin’...

Pleistocene Pop-Up

Marine Fossil Paleontology Expedition

Capitola Beach Capitola Beach, CA, United States

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind opportunity to participate in a paleontological expedition to uncover the remains of extinct marine life. Guided by paleontologist Wayne Thompson, travel 5-million years back in time to the bottom of the seafloor and discover the prehistoric creatures of the ancient Monterey Bay area. Participants will search for, decipher, and identify the...

Museum of the Macabre

Members-Only! Macabre Full Moon Hike

Cotoni Coast Dairies Davenport, CA

For the first time ever, join us for a Members-Only, guided night hike through the newly opened Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument, led by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rangers. Led by naturalists, don’t miss this one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience shadowy redwood forests, sprawling coastal prairies, and craggy chaparral illuminated by the full moon. Explore the...

Pleistocene Pop-Up

Tracking California’s Dinosaurs

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

Where are all the dinosaur fossils in California? What happened to California dinosaurs? Did they exist here? Were there dinosaurs in Santa Cruz? If not, why? Learn the answers to those questions and much more as we unearth the mysteries of California’s dinosaurs. Join vertebrate paleontologist and environmental geologist, Prof. Hilde Schwartz, as she takes...

Pleistocene Pop-Up

Scientific Illustration of Fossils

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

Discover the intersection of art and science in this elevated, hands-on illustration workshop! Enjoy a glass of wine as you work directly from real subjects, blending natural history and art into a unique creative experience. You’ll learn the fundamentals of observational drawing from professional scientific illustrator, Cady Delay, while using charcoal and graphite, to play...

Featured Museum of the Macabre

Museum of the Macabre Halloween Party

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

Join us for a howling good time with this year’s Museum of the Macabre: Creatures of the Night! The Museum will be turned into a haunted house full of the bone-chilling taxidermy that inspired your favorite movie monsters. Get up close and personal with every type of Halloween horror. Experience the natural history of your...

Halloween Member Meetup: Cotoni-Coast Dairies Full Moon Hike

Cotoni Coast Dairies Davenport, CA

Experience Spooky Season like never before – exclusively for Museum Members! For the first time ever, join us for a guided night hike through the newly opened Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument. Led by naturalists, don’t miss this one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience shadowy redwood forests, sprawling coastal prairies, and craggy chaparral illuminated by the full moon....

3 people working in a garden
Saturdays in the Soil

Saturdays in the Soil

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s...

3 people working in a garden
Saturdays in the Soil

Saturdays in the Soil

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s...

3 people working in a garden
Saturdays in the Soil

Saturdays in the Soil

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s...

3 people working in a garden
Saturdays in the Soil

Saturdays in the Soil

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s...

3 people working in a garden
Saturdays in the Soil

Saturdays in the Soil

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s...

3 people working in a garden
Saturdays in the Soil

Saturdays in the Soil

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s...

3 people working in a garden
Saturdays in the Soil

Saturdays in the Soil

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s...

3 people working in a garden
Saturdays in the Soil

Saturdays in the Soil

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

We are coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, you gain new wisdom about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while connecting with nature outdoors. It’s time to get your hands dirty! Join us and volunteer in the Museum’s...