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Watch past programs, explore video tutorials, and dive into natural history — wherever you are!

Rockin’ Pop-Up: Coastal Geology

Topic: Explore the impacts that the ocean, weather, and tectonic activity have on our ever-changing coastline.

About the series: Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, for weekly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each week we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. Graham Edwards and Gavin Piccione are PhD candidates in geochronology with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

Submit your questions ahead of time on Facebook or by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org, or during the program live on Facebook. Feel free to include pictures of rocks you’d like identified! Pro-tip: the better the picture, the better the ID.

Watch Past Pop-Ups

Rockin’ Pop-Up: California’s State Symbols

Topic: California’s symbols are iconic — from the California Poppy to the California Grizzly Bear. Though they may be less discussed, our state’s geologic symbols do not disappoint. Learn about what makes our state’s gemstone, mineral, and rock iconically Californian during this week’s Rockin’ Pop-Up.

About the series: Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, for weekly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each week we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. Graham Edwards and Gavin Piccione are PhD candidates in geochronology with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

Submit your questions ahead of time on Facebook or by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org, or during the program live on Facebook. Feel free to include pictures of rocks you’d like identified! Pro-tip: the better the picture, the better the ID.

Watch Past Pop-Ups

Naturalist Night: Santa Cruz Habitats and History

Get the bird’s eye view of the factors that have impacted the habitats of Santa Cruz for millions of years, thousands of years, and very recently as we dive into this new series exploring the nature of Santa Cruz, habitat by habitat, with the aim of developing our skills as naturalists.

About the series: Join fellow nature enthusiasts for monthly explorations of the biodiversity of Santa Cruz County. Each month, our Public Programs Manager Marisa Gomez will share the stories of a specific Santa Cruz habitat as we develop our skills as naturalists.

This series will feature a presentation as well as an interactive session and is in partnership with Santa Cruz Public Libraries.

Watch other Naturalist Nights

Rockin’ Pop-Up: Sea Level Rise and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

Gavin and Graham discuss their new paper exploring evidence of massive sea level rise due to past melting of the East Antarctic ice sheet.

Resources:
Read the full paper
Explore NOAA’s sea level rise simulator
Explore the City of Santa Cruz’s Climate Action Program

About the series: Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, for weekly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each week we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. Graham Edwards and Gavin Piccione are PhD candidates in geochronology with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

Submit your questions ahead of time on Facebook or by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org, or during the program live on Facebook. Feel free to include pictures of rocks you’d like identified! Pro-tip: the better the picture, the better the ID.

Watch Past Pop-Ups

Rockin’ Pop-Up: Volcanoes and Mass Extinctions

Gavin and Graham will be joined by Dr. Seth Burgess, research geologist at the USGS volcano science center. Dr. Burgess got his PhD at MIT, where he studied the timing and rate of the Earth’s mass extinction events. At the USGS, he specializes in dating young volcanic activity in the western US to reconstruct the volcanic history of the area, and to assess the risk that volcanic activity poses to the general public. We will chat with Seth about some of the highlights from his mass extinction work, as well his role and projects at the USGS.

About the series: Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, for weekly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each week we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. Graham Edwards and Gavin Piccione are PhD candidates in geochronology with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

Submit your questions ahead of time on Facebook or by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org, or during the program live on Facebook. Feel free to include pictures of rocks you’d like identified! Pro-tip: the better the picture, the better the ID.

Watch Past Pop-Ups

How to Create a Moon Phenology Wheel

Happy Moon Day! In honor of the anniversary of the first human steps on the moon, we’re celebrating space exploration — from the comfort of your home.

Study your environment to the pace of our lunar cycles with this moon phenology wheel activity.

For more on Phenology Wheels, check out this activity!

Explore more resources about SPACE
Explore more resources about NATURE JOURNALING
Post by Marisa

Learn more about astronomy with these resources in our Online Museum Store.

Rockin’ Pop-Up: Science Communication

How does a discovery in the lab make it to the New York Times or Radiolab? Experimentation and data analysis are only part of the story. During this installment of the Rockin’ Pop-Up, Gavin and Graham discuss the funding and academic structures that shape their work, and how all of it comes together to be communicated with the scientific and general community.

About the series: Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, for weekly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each week we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. Graham Edwards and Gavin Piccione are PhD candidates in geochronology with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

Submit your questions ahead of time on Facebook or by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org, or during the program live on Facebook. Feel free to include pictures of rocks you’d like identified! Pro-tip: the better the picture, the better the ID.

Watch Past Pop-Ups

Collections Close-Up: Malacology

From curiosity cabinets to catalog cards, abalone pendants to olivella beads on baskets, the stories of our seashells are vast like the ocean and rooted, like our museum, in the history of women in science.

Stroll with us into the malacology collections, where we look at the legacy of local naturalist and seashell collector Hulda Hoover Mclean. In the 1970s, Hoover McLean wrote one of the first shell identification guides for this area, based on a lifetime of seaside sojourns. Alongside her story we will highlight various collections specimens and the creatures who formed them.

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. Watch last month’s webinar on kelp and conservation.

Not yet a member? Join today!

Rockin’ Pop-Up: Ask a Scientist

This week we explore what it’s like to be a geologist as Gavin and Graham interview scientists currently studying geology at Uc Santa Cruz. Explore their lab, hear how they solve problems, and learn about the projects they work on.

About the series: Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, for weekly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each week we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. Graham Edwards and Gavin Piccione are PhD candidates in geochronology with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

Submit your questions ahead of time on Facebook or by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org, or during the program live on Facebook. Feel free to include pictures of rocks you’d like identified! Pro-tip: the better the picture, the better the ID.

Watch Past Pop-Ups

Rockin’ Pop-Up: Geologic Time Part Two

After exploring the Earth’s “greatest hits” last week, the Geology Gents dig deeper into how we determine the age of rocks.

About the series: Join the Geology Gents, Gavin and Graham, for weekly conversations about rocks live on Facebook. Each week we’ll explore a different geologic topic, from Santa Cruz formations to tips for being a more effective rockhound. Graham Edwards and Gavin Piccione are PhD candidates in geochronology with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

Submit your questions ahead of time on Facebook or by emailing events@santacruzmuseum.org, or during the program live on Facebook. Feel free to include pictures of rocks you’d like identified! Pro-tip: the better the picture, the better the ID.

Watch Past Pop-Ups