San Diego Natural History Museum

12/09/2022

Looking at your break plans like... 🎄👀

If you’re scratching your head trying to think of ways to entertain your friends and family who are coming to town for the holidays—or to escape their shivering winters—look no further!

While we will be closed on 12/25, we will be open every day between 12/26–12/31. That means one extra day to stare at ✨ sparkly gemstones, 🦂 observe creepy crawlers in the Living Lab, 🎥 watch all our Giant Screen Experience films, and show off all your favorite things at .

What will you be exploring with your friends and family during the holidays? Let us know in the comments!

[📷: on Instagram]

12/07/2022

We’re about to have a whale of a time together! 🐋

This Saturday marks the start of our winter season. Join our whalers—museum-trained volunteer naturalists— and from December through April to spot grey whales as they pass through San Diego's coastal waters.

Whale watching tours are usually seven days a week with both morning and afternoon cruises. These 3.5-hour cruises are great for everyone and something you'll want to add to your winter !

🐳 Learn more here: bit.ly/3HhKETQ

12/01/2022

Wrapped 2022

12/01/2022

and in always leave us speechless. 😍☀️

[ 📷: Balboa Park Cultural Partnership ]

11/28/2022

Want to give them a gift that lasts all year long? Consider giving a Nat membership to let your loved one explore year-round with no blackout dates.

Members enjoy free admission, discounts at the café and store, advance registration on free nature hikes, access to exclusive member events, and so much more.

Plus, all memberships come with guest passes, so they can even bring you along if they’re feeling generous! https://www.sdnhm.org/join-and-give/membership/

11/24/2022

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!
Celebrate with some local turkey facts from your Nature Nerd HQ:

🦃 Wild turkeys are not native to San Diego County—or even ! In SoCal, they were unsuccessfully introduced throughout the 1900s, eventually taking hold in 1993.

🐣 Male turkeys are called toms or gobblers, females are hens, juveniles are jakes and jennies, and babies are poults.

🦴 of a now-extinct turkey species are well-known in the Badlands. 1.8 million years ago during the , our deserts were much different.

🌳 A turkey's nest is a simple divot in the ground called a scrape. Hens often dig scrapes underneath trees so they can watch for predators from above.

📍 Turkeys are most commonly spotted around Julian, Rancho Cuyamaca State Park, and the Santa Ysabel East Preserve.

Image: Wild Turkey by John James . This life-size lithograph is on display now on our third floor.

11/22/2022

Incoming: More rare bird news for you rare bird nerds 🤓

Our colleagues spotted a ✨scissor-tailed flycatcher✨ perched on the Museum several times last week!

Why is this exciting?

Aside from being one of the most elegant birds in their family (📷2), scissor-tailed flycatchers rarely come to San Diego, usually migrating between Central America and the US Midwest. Our vagrant visitor has joined a flock of Cassin's kingbirds, who are close relatives (📷3).

If the kingbirds are friendly, and the flycatcher can find the right foods, it will likely stick around through winter—plenty of time to catch a glimpse!

Just one more reason to stop by this holiday weekend 😉

Photos by John Bruin, Laura Wolf, and Barbara Wise

11/21/2022

POV: you just learned that your friend has no interest in camera trap photography. *Cue stare of disbelief*

reveal the unseen lives of —and ways to protect them. They also give us some pretty darn-cute animal photos, like this candid coyote. What’s not to love? Explore more camera trap photos of local wildlife in our new exhibit, Caught on Camera, now open!

📷: U.S. Geological Survey

11/18/2022

Live Youth Program - Baja Stories: Rats! A Rediscovery Tail

This adorable rat is back! Was it ever gone? Learn about the exciting rediscovery of the San Quintín Kangaroo Rat by museum researchers and their colleagues in Mexico. And hear how they’re working to protect it.

11/18/2022

📸 Our new , Caught on Camera, is now open! 📸

Discover the secret lives of the all around us. From flying squirrels to mountain lions, explore the in our region and learn how to protect the space we share with wildlife.

But wait—there's more! Our newest film—Micro Monsters—shrinks us down to insect size to reveal the hidden world of super-powered bugs and is now playing in our Giant Screen theater.

See you this weekend for a weekend full of curiosity. 🏛️: bit.ly/3ggJg8M

📷: Roy Dunn

11/17/2022

Wildflowers in November?!? 🌸

Our Hike of the Month pick is Plum Canyon in Anza Borrego State Park, where the desert plants are popping off! 🙏Thank you rain gods 🙏

Plum Canyon Trail is 3.6 miles out and back and rated as moderately difficult.

Not only are the plants going wild, the birds and bugs are responding to the moisture too. Plum Canyon is incredibly diverse thanks to its location in the desert transition zone. Pay attention to how the plant communities change as you hike along the trail.

*Note dogs are not allowed on this trail. Bring plenty of water and sun protection. More info here: http://ow.ly/e32z50LGxx7

11/17/2022

Gila Monster? More Like Gila Heart Throb 🧡 Happy 27th Birthday to our gorgeous—and grown—gila monster, Muppet! 🥳

She'll be accepting visitors, birthday cards, and tasty quail eggs all week in the Living Lab.

11/14/2022

🐜 Beetles shooting chemical fire, ants lifting enormous weight, deadly assassins practically turning invisible...we don’t have Spiderman or Antman in our universe, but we do have other creatures with superpowers.

📽️ This Friday, shrink down and view life from the perspective of the real rulers of our planet—bugs—in our newest giant screen film, Micro Monsters. Your admission ticket gets you access to all Subaru Giant Screen Experience films; films are free for members.

Grab your ticket now bit.ly/3Tigmmn

11/12/2022

🐀 Who could say no to a face like that–and free learning resources?

Bring science and conservation right to your —or living room—with the click of a mouse (get it?) on November 18 at 10 AM.

💻 During our live Zoom webinar, your students can learn about the exciting rediscovery of the critically endangered San Quintin Kangaroo Rat and how our researchers are working hand-in-hand with organizations in Mexico on a conservation plan for the animal.

Sign up here: bit.ly/3UdgIvx

11/04/2022

This week, we got an offer we couldn't refuse: One of North America's most elusive birds. 😱

This small, downright gorgeous bird is a ✨yellow rail.✨ Emaciated and dehydrated, she died shortly after being dropped off at Project Wildlife. 😔 But thanks to our research collection, she can have a second life as a scientific specimen. Once preserved, her little body will answer our conservation questions long into the future.

Yellow rails live in marshy, wetland habitats and almost never present themselves to birders. There are currently only 134 observations of this species WORLDWIDE on . For context, the Virginia rail, (a close relative) has more than 3,300 observations.

This is only the second yellow rail ever recorded for San Diego County, and she was found along Mission Bay. The first record is also in our collection, added in 1998.

Thank you, little bird. Thank you, Diego Humane Society. And thank you to the woman who tried to rescue this extremely rare creature. You just never know the impact of a good deed. 💛

11/03/2022

Fangs a lot for joining us at Secret Society this year! 🕷️
We had a total blast, and it looks like you did too. 🤩

Check out the photos from our spooky night together, and don't forget to tag your friends!
See you next year San Diego!

11/03/2022

Photos from San Diego Natural History Museum's post

10/31/2022

Happy Halloween! 🦇

Enjoy this spooky (and extremely rare!) footage of Mexican free-tailed swarming near a bridge in . This slow-motion video was captured by our bat expert, Drew Stokes, who says he's never seen a bat swarm during his 26 years of bat research. 😱

10/29/2022

San Diego's feathered fashionistas are ready for . Are you?👻

10/27/2022

Meet the new face of conservation at The Nat. We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Michelle E. Thompson as our new—and first—Exequiel Ezcurra Director of Conservation Biology.

Michelle will steer our conservation research strategy and serve as The Nat’s public face for conservation and environmental justice.

This is a newly created, endowed position made possible through philanthropic support. The role is a key part of our strategic plan to lead with our science and help preserve biodiversity in our region.

Meet Michelle, and learn more about her work in our online press room. bit.ly/3U3v953

10/27/2022

Photos from San Diego Bird Festival's post

10/26/2022

Column: Caught on camera: Critters’ nocturnal habits captured on Mt. Hoo

What’s a camera trap anyway? Despite their relatively old technology, they are used as critical conservation tools. People worldwide use camera traps to study animal behavior, answer fundamental scientific questions, and learn more about different species.

Ever wondered what animals are up to when you’re not watching them? Camera traps can tell us. Learn more about camera traps—and The Nat’s upcoming exhibition—in this Union-Tribune story by Outdoors Writer Ernie Cowan.

Ernie Cowan's Outdoors column

10/25/2022

Discovery of new saber-tooth species sheds light on San Diego's distant past, could reveal clues about future

10News – ABC San Diego KGTV's top story yesterday was a mouth full 😁
Learn more about our latest saber tooth fossil discovery:

The discovery of a new species of extinct saber-tooth is providing new details about an ancient animal that has long-captured the imaginations of visitors to natural history museums.

10/25/2022

Paleontologist announces discovery of second saber-tooth catlike species that once roamed San Diego area

The cat's out of the bag...and it's front-page news.

Studying the puma-sized Pangurban egiae, which roamed the local area 38 million years ago, could shed light on how similar predators emerged and then died off

10/21/2022

The Story of Earth is the epitome of eye candy. 🍭👀 Be sure to check out this film next time you’re at The Nat—it closes November 17. Your admission ticket gets you access to all films in the Subaru Giant Screen Experience.

List of daily showings: sdnat.org/giantscreentheater

10/21/2022

October's Hike of the Month is here, and it's bird-acious! 🦆
Here's why it's the perfect time of year to hike the Tijuana River Estuary:

- In October alone, hikers have spotted more than 90 species of birds here, including the San Diego Padres new unofficial mascot.
- Cooler weather means low-elevation hikes are finally comfortable again!
- The Reserve's visitor center features fun interactives and free guided walks on the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month. (That's this weekend!)

📷2: Greater white-fronted goose
📷3: Horned lark
📷4: White-tailed kite

More details here: http://ow.ly/fbeg50LfO0Z
The Canyoneers program is made possible with dedicated volunteers and proud partners Subaru of America, Inc.

10/19/2022

Our kind of mural. Let’s fowling go, San Diego!

Mural by Paul Jimenez and 📸

10/13/2022

It's official! Add it to the books! The evidence is in!

A Western diamond-backed rattlesnake (C. atrox) has been recorded in San Diego County 🐍

And when we say "in San Diego County," we mean jussssst barely. This snake was found less than a half-mile from the county border. But it counts!!

Thanks to Travis Raszkowski for spotting this gorgeous snake and sending photo vouchers to The Nat's herpetology department to confirm the discovery.

This diamondback joins four other native rattlesnake sssssspecies known in our county: red diamond, speckled, southern Pacific, and the colorado desert sidewinder.

10/12/2022

It's National Fossil Day! 🦴 Did you know our fossil collection represents 38 U.S. states and 12 nations? Each red dot on the map marks a "locality" where at least one of our fossils was found.

As you can see, our collection is *highly* focused on our mission region: southern California and the Baja California Peninsula. 📍

Nothing says "Natural History" quite like fossils. Today, we celebrate our Paleontology Department, PaleoServices clients, Paleo predecessors, and all the ancient ecosystems hidden beneath our feet. 🤩

10/11/2022

At the top of Baja California's tallest mountains, two dedicated people have cared for dozens of California Condors for nearly two decades. ⛰️

Braving electrical storms, wildfires, and heavy snow, Mexican biologists Juan and Caty have traded cell service, city life, and big social circles for the noble task of recovering North America's largest birds from near extinction.

Our President and CEO Judy Gradwohl joined Juan, Caty, and the condors among the peaks last year—read about her experience in our latest blog post. http://ow.ly/jsM850L7Abb

And on Oct. 25, join our next virtual Nat Talk to hear from Caty directly—a rare opportunity!

10/09/2022

We don't feel a day over 147.

Happy 148th birthday to us! 🎉🎈 On October 9, 1874, a group of amateur naturalists came together to form the San Diego Society of Natural History (still our legal name, by the way) to formalize their passion for the natural wonders of our region.

Our first members met regularly to share their observations about nature, host informal lectures, help collect data, and volunteer their time and resources to prepare specimens. Though they didn’t know it at the time, these meetings were only the beginning.

Thank you for being a part of our legacy. We may be 148, but we're just getting started. We're here for nature—past, present, and future. 🎋🦉

10/08/2022

Know a teacher who would benefit from a free Nature to You Loan Library membership (in other words, borrow museum specimens for their classrooms)? We have scholarships available, thanks to our Museum Access Fund, which is made possible through gifts from donors.

These free memberships are available for teachers in qualified Title I schools. Submit your application by Friday, October 15 to be considered; you’ll hear back from us by October 31. Details here. http://ow.ly/W03Y50L4Nkl

10/07/2022

October means Kids Free San Diego! This month, kids 12 and under visit free with a full-price adult ticket. Present the Kids Free San Diego offer when you visit between now and October 31. Details and exclusions here. http://ow.ly/HMnZ50L4EV6

10/06/2022

Photos from San Diego Natural History Museum Botany Department's post

10/01/2022

🐾 Who is slinking through your neighborhood at night?
🌖 Who is visiting your garden by the light of the moon?
🦇 Who is flying in the sky under cover of darkness?

When we go to sleep, many wild animals are waking up. But how to catch a glimpse?

In our latest blog, Nat scientists share three fun and simple ways to spot wildlife after dark, based on their fieldwork.
Hint: One of their techniques is to set up a camera trap like the local photographers in this post. 📸

Read all about it here: http://ow.ly/HIXT50KYK62

09/29/2022

Our mission to take good care of the natural world is dependent on taking good care of the building itself.

We’re honored to have been awarded $3.3 million in state funds to support important infrastructure projects, energy-saving measures, and collections care. "Mega" thanks to Assemblymember Chris Ward for helping us meet our sustainability and stewardship goals.

There is no other building that houses so much knowledge about the natural history of this region. We’re making sure it has a good future.

09/28/2022

Something spooky this way comes... 👻The Secret Society of Adultologists is back on Oct. 21!

Join us after hours and tour the undead zoo, search the galleries on a scavenger hunt, test your skeleton and spider smarts, watch live-animal feedings, live music, and so much more! (Did we mention this event is kid-free?) 🕺💃

Local eats, craft brews, specialty cocktails, and more available for purchase.

Tickets on sale now for anyone 21+ (Link in Bio)
Save the date! Tell your friends! And don't forget your Halloween costume!

09/27/2022

Run, don't walk. There are a few weeks left to see two eye-popping exhibitions before they close. California Blooming, a photography show on our 4th floor, closes October 16. Art of Science, located in our Atrium and showcasing the work of UC San Diego students and researchers, closes October 24. See them before they're gone.

09/23/2022

How does 75-million-year-old skin look so good? Here’s one duck-billed dinosaur’s beauty secret: bury yourself in coastal wetlands, where the chemistry for skin fossilization is juuust right. 🛀

Ok, ok… so the actual skin decayed millions of years ago. But it left an impression in the soft mud, which was then filled with minerals and sediment that preserved the skin’s texture—giving us this drop-dead (pun intended) gorgeous specimen. See it—and many other fascinating specimens—in Fossil Mysteries. 🦖

09/19/2022

🥾 September Hike of the Month: Desert View Trail in William Heise County Park.
Emphasis on the "View" 😅
Ain't nobody got time for desert hikes in this heat ☀️

Why this trail?
Desert View trail ascends to 4,927 feet, then looks out on North Peak, Julian, and the balmy desert below. If you get an early start, you should be able to avoid high temps on this high-elevation trail.

What will you see?
Oak, pine, and cedar forests and mountain meadows. Frequently seen critters include mule deer and wild turkey. Bobcats and mountain lions are a rare sight. In addition to beautiful scenery, this park has a small museum and weekend activities led by park rangers.

What's the terrain?
This is an intermediate, 4-mile hike with an elevation change of 1,150 feet.

Any pro-tips?
Bring plenty of water and sun protection! 💧
A $3 day use fee or a San Diego County Parks and Recreation Parking Pass is required to park.

Want to hike this trail with someone who knows the plants, animals, and geology of the park? Our Canyoneers are hiking Desert View Trail on Oct. 9 at 8 AM.
Sign up here 👉 http://ow.ly/9H3R50KEY78 fo' freeee!

📷Jori Baker and Philippe Lamoise