Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

10/13/2026

Museum taxidermy offers a unique way to connect with the natural world, and to see animals we might never encounter in the wild. These specimens allow us to observe details up close, explore animal adaptations, and appreciate the incredible diversity of life—all in a safe, hands-on, science-based learning environment. From the texture of a coat to the shape of a beak, there’s so much to discover when you take a closer look! Come explore, get curious, and discover wildlife from a whole new perspective at the Museum. Learn more about the history of taxidermy on our blog post "Taxidermy and Touch" 🦇https://loom.ly/sx53dCY

A bat. A gopher. An ermine. This blog celebrates these new additions to a special part of the Museum’s holdings: Our Education Collection. When we talk about our Collections, we often talk about the distinction between different kinds of objects, like our geology specimens or anthropological artif...

10/11/2026

The Lookout List final voting period is now live! Vote for the Museum in the categories of Favorite Place to Take Your Kids on a Rainy Day and Favorite Museum! Voting for these categories are found in the Family & Pets and Arts & Entertainment sections! Voting helps support the Museum's visibility in the community! Don't wait, vote today! ➡️ ✅https://thelist.lookout.co/

10/09/2026

Get crafty with us on October 23rd for a fantastic night of sipping and sketching skulls using a negative drawing technique on black paper by creating highlights and details with white ink while the black paper becomes the spooky shadows. Recreate familiar animal skulls or perhaps make your own mutant species by combining animal skulls and imaginary details. 💀

No previous art experience is necessary, just bring some curiosity and willingness to play! Register here ➡️https://loom.ly/gP2HMUE

10/08/2026

Got acorns? 🌰 We’d love to take them off your hands!

The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History is looking for donations of large, clean acorns for an upcoming educational activity. Students will have the opportunity to grind acorns and learn about the traditional foods, technologies, and practices of Indigenous peoples of the Central Coast.
If you have an oak tree dropping lots of big acorns this fall, consider collecting some for us! 🍂🧺

What we’re looking for:
-Large, whole acorns
-Free of visible mold, rot, or insect damage
-Collected from areas that haven’t been treated with pesticides or other chemicals

Your acorns will help us create a hands-on learning experience connecting local students with the natural and cultural history of our region. Please drop them off with Museum staff during open hours.

Thank you for helping us turn this year’s acorn crop into an opportunity for learning!

10/06/2026

Don’t miss out on the eerie oddities tucked inside our Cabinet of Curiosities — a special collection curated just for Museum of the Macabre. Step inside and explore the strange, the fascinating, and the delightfully unsettling all October long.

10/04/2026

Meet Phernado, the mountain lion, and learn about the science of bones next Thursday, Oct 8th! Presented by Dr. Gizelle Hurtado of the Norris Center at UCSC. This talk traces Phernado’s story, his life, his death, how he came to the Norris Center, and the remarkable second life he now leads as an educational specimen shaping the next generation of naturalists.

(Please note there will be photos of blood, tissue, and bones being worked on in this talk.)

Register here https://loom.ly/7PKde4c

10/03/2026

What do ancient seafloors, Swiss cheese and portions of the Santa Cruz Mountains have in common? Probably not much, but tell that to the bedrock. Portions of the UCSC campus and adjacent Wilder Ranch State Park are characterized by a rare phenomena on the West Coast–karst topography. A karst landscape features sinkholes, streams that dive underground, springs, caves, and more! Check out our blog for a deeper dive on local caves and their endemic species! 👉 https://loom.ly/E0v2FsM

Caves are an intersection between natural destruction and creation, where existing rocks are eroded away, and new rocks are continuously formed. Descend into one of the many caves in Santa Cruz and you’ll get a unique viewpoint of the striped marble walls that were built offshore of the area’s a...

10/01/2026

The Santa Cruz Port District is excited to announce the relaunch of Harboropoly to highlight and celebrate the many businesses that make the harbor and surrounding community unique! Support Santa Cruz Harbor businesses (including businesses along lower Seabright and 7th Avenue) from Oct 1st through Dec 31st by dining, shopping, exploring, and collecting proof of purchase and free activity stamps along the way to earn raffle entry for prizes! Make sure to include the Museum on your list! Download your board, and see the list of participating businesses from

09/30/2026

Calling all ophiophilists — snake lovers of every stripe. Our final First Friday of the season is slithering your way, and you won’t want to miss the chance to see live snakes up close and after hours. We even have something special for our taxidermy enthusiasts! As always, First Friday admission is free! Ssssee you tomorrow, 5-8pm! 🐍👀