Wow, are we busy with great programs this fall!! Thank you, Docents, for keeping up with all our many scheduled tours. We can’t do this without you!
Here’s the link to our calendars:
www.santacruzmuseums.org/docents/
Contact Pete for Neary (x14), Matt for Sandhills (x13) and Liz (x10) for Ohlone, Animal, Hosting and Storytime shifts or stop by the front desk to see the schedule. 420-6115
Program Updates
Ohlone tours – This week we still need docents for:
- Thursday, 10/18 – 10am Ohlone, 11:30am Ohlone (call now 420-6115 x10)
It’s our busiest time of year for Ohlone tours. Please sign up well in advance to lead so we don’t have to schedule docents at the last minute. Thanks!!!
We welcome our UCSC interns Charlotte and Nicholas who will be helping with Ohlone tours and the front desk. It’s great to have you join us!
Remember to open the acorns and put the NUT in the mortar – not the whole acorn. The shell is too hard to crush and we can’t make fine acorn flour with the outer shell, thanks!
Animal tours – Thank you docents for signing up to lead these tours. Let Liz or Deb know if there are any specimen that need attention or replacement.
Neary Lagoon – We had a great week of 5th grade Watershed programs, testing the water quality and engaging kids through scientific investigation. Third grade Wetland tours are booked for the next few weeks. We welcome our new interns helping with these programs: Erin, Alice and Allison!
Sandhills Exploration – First field trip to the Randall Morgan Preserve was today and it was beautiful! Next week we have a tour:
- Thursday, October 25, 9:30-11:30am
Contact Matt (matt@santacruzmusems.org, 420-6115 x 13) to sign up and keep checking the Sandhills calendar as we add more field trip dates.
Hosting – Our new Naturalists exhibit – up this Saturday! – will give hosts lots of new ways to engage with visitors with microscopes, cones, insects and fish (oh my!) Thank you for signing up for Saturday shifts – you add so much to our visitors’ experiences.
Nat Time – We have new titles in our storytime library:
My very first book of Animal homes by Eric Carle, A Swim through the Sea by Kristin Joy Pratt, Bajo las Olas by Kristin Joy Pratt, Forest Bright, Forest Night by Jennifer Ward, A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle, In the trees, Honey bees by Lori Mortensen
Find these books in the book nook or in Cabinet A and don’t forget you can use the Growing up Wild! Preschool curriculum book (located downstairs in the docent library) for ideas on songs and fingerplay. Great seasonal themes to do: weather, winter, leaves, migration!
Upcoming Docent dates:
Education Open House – October 24, 3-5pm
Please join us for this afternoon event to tell teachers about our programs and resources. It’s wonderful to have docents here to engage with the teachers who attend and give them an understanding of our programs. Please encourage teachers you know (preschool – high school!!) to attend.
And then, please stay for our: Docent orientation of our new exhibit: Keen Eyes and Curious Minds – Exploring the Lives and Work of Local Naturalists Daniel Miller and Randall Morgan, 5-6pm
Storytelling workshop – October 29, 10am-1pm Local storyteller Bethany Kilzer, who often entertains at Quail Hollow Ranch County Park with stories and myths about snakes, turtles, frogs and other critters, and museum docent Nancy Lenz, who has taught and told at school assemblies, book fairs and festivals, guarantee a morning of good times and realizing exercises to help banish fears for beginning tellers and encourage experienced tellers to use stories to bring to life our museum exhibits. The Native American Storyteller says…”I will tell you stories of what happened long ago. Some of you will remember every word that I say, some will remember a part of the words, and some will forget them all — but you must do your best. Hereafter you must tell these stories to one another. Now listen, now tell.”
Community Engagement workshop – November 10, 1-5pm at the Seymour Center with our informal education partners (more info to come!)
Tour of wastewater treatment plant – December 5, 1-2:30pm by the entrance to Neary Lagoon (California and Bay). Limited number of participants. Sign up information to come.
Recycle! - Do you have your old Docent Handbook that you don’t use anymore? Since all our resources are online, you may want to bring back that thick binder. We’ll file the resources and have them available for upcoming trainings!
Happy FALL!
-Deborah, Liz, Jen, Pete and Matt
