The Buzzz…

Celebrate our Summer Saturday Series Grand Finale! The Banana Slug String Band will return to the Museum on Saturday, August 4 for our last Families In Nature Summer Saturday event of the season. Their musical presentation, “Down by the Creek,” will celebrate newly restored Pilkington Creek at 11am and 12:30pm. We will have native California seedlings for kids to plant plus craft activities, face painting, food, and fun! The Penny Ice Creamery will be here dishing up delectable cones alongside Blood, Sweat & Tacos. And Chevrolet of Watsonville will offer the Museum $5 for every test-drive of their electric Volt. Much gratitude goes out to Vision Recycling and Live Earth Farm for sponsoring this event, and to KION for creating this Familes In Nature promotional commercial.

Rocks, fossils, and shells…Oh my! Come check out the Museum’s two new interactives by our rocks and fossil exhibits. Read about the three main rock types and put your knowledge to the test. Can you tell the difference between igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks? You can also dabble in paleontology for a bit with our latest hands-on activity: matching shells with their corresponding fossil. Want to learn more? Head on over to the Pogonip Nature Center and enjoy our collection of specimen and geology activity on display now!

The Forest of Nisene Marks celebrates its 50th birthday this weekend. There will be a special tour highlighting five decades of nature preservation. Read more in this Santa Cruz Sentinel article.

The Museum seeks intrepid volunteers to help us transport and unload mulch for upcoming garden work in Pilkington Creek. In partnership with the Seabright Neighborhood Association, we have reintroduced many new native species to the area. And Vision Recycling has given us a generous donation of mulch to help keep down the invasive weeds. We seek volunteers with pick-up trucks (without camper shells) to help us pick up mulch either in Ben Lomond or Watsonville, transport it to the Museum, and help us unload it. If you are the intrepid person we seek, please email volunteers@santacruzmuseums.org or call 420.6115 x15.

Coming soon, Movies at the Museum makes its debut! This fall, we are introducing a monthly movie series and our first theme is “Weird Science.” We will host a sci-fi/horror film and bring a keynote presenter to share the facts behind the fiction of each film. There will be refreshments, beer, wine, popcorn, and plenty of creepy preserved specimens hangin’ around to complete the weird science feel. Our first film will be Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds – based on a true story that happened here, in the Monterey Bay! Go to our Facebook Movies at the Museum page and let us know that you plan to attend, as space will be limited.

Frank Perry, local geologist, paleontologist, and historian will be teaching a sold-out class on the Urban Geology of Santa Cruz this Saturday. Frank’s tour is part of the Museum’s Connect With Nature series that brings enrichment classes to adults in all four seasons. Learn more about upcoming Connect With Nature Classes…

The Banana Slug String Band will return to the Museum on Saturday, August 4 for the grand finale of the Families In Nature Summer Saturday Series. Their musical presentation, “Down by the Creek,” will celebrate newly restored Pilkington Creek. We will have native California seedlings for kids to plant plus craft activities, face painting, food, and fun! The Penny Ice Creamery will be here dishing up delectable cones alongside Blood, Sweat & Tacos. And Chevrolet of Watsonville will be here offering the Museum $5 for every test-drive of their electric Volt. Much gratitude goes out to Vision Recycling for sponsoring this event, and to KION for creating this Familes In Nature promotional commercial.

We need your cones! The Museum is collecting tree cones from all kinds of California conifers for our fall exhibit about naturalists Daniel Miller and Randal Morgan. Please bring cones to the Museum during operating hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10am – 5pm. Thank you!!!

The Santa Cruz City Council passed ordinances 2012-08 and 2012-09 on Tuesday, mandating that single use plastic bags and polystyrene packaging will be banned within Santa Cruz City limits starting in spring of 2013. Plastic is a very dangerous marine debris, affecting species of birds, fish, turtles, and whales. This bag ban could have wide reaching impacts improving the health of Monterey Bay. Read more about this ban and others like it at Save Our Shores and Californians Against Waste.

Get ready for the rainy season! The Resource Conservation District of Monterey will offer a free workshop on Saturday, August 4 in Seaside about greening stormwater runoff around your home. Learn more…

Catch “Beautiful Bats” this Saturday with the Bat Conservancy of Coastal California. Learn about the fascinating adaptations of these fuzzy flying mammals, make fun craft projects, get your face painted, and grab a cone from the Penny Ice Creamery. Drop in from 11am – 2pm.

A pair of juncos are nesting in a Museum window. While this fastidious photographer only captured one on film, other Museum employees believe there are two hatchlings in the nest atop the eastern restroom window sill. The parents are rather protective, but don’t seem too concerned by Museum guests using the facilities. Check out more pics on the Museum Facebook page.

Join Frank Perry for Urban Geology - our summer installment of the Connect With Nature series on July 28. This local historian, geologist, and paleontologist will guide you on a walking tour of the most notable geological features of Santa Cruz. We’ll see outcrops of fossils, learn how the San Lorenzo River shaped the area’s topography, and examine the rocks of well-known city landmarks. Registration is now available online.

Our Summer Camps are fun and inspiring! The Art and Nature Explorers scoured the beach for natural materials to create mobiles with. They tested local water quality and tooled through city open spaces, taking time to draw, connect, and learn. Next week, the lucky kids in our Nature and Survival Skills Camp will learn ancient ways of living, and enjoy an overnight camping trip where they can apply their skills. There are still a couple of openings in the second session of this camp, running July 23-27. So if you’re looking for an enriching summer day camp with an overnight finale, read more info about Nature and Survival Skills Camp.

Interactivity – we welcome your creativity! Our topo map at the entrance to the Museum asks, “How have you connected with nature?” A host of animal images are available to mount to the map so you can show us where you most recently saw a stellar jay or a harbor seal. A couple of new animals appeared on the map today, crafted straight from mounting putty. I started wondering, how else can we invite interaction? So I ask you – what do you want to see at the Museum? Leave your comments here on the blog.

Join us for the Families in Nature Summer Saturday Series kick-off! This Saturday, June 23, check out Sensational Snakes with our local reptile expert, For Goodness Snakes. 11am and 12:30pm shows give you a greater understanding of these magnificent creatures and the chance to get up close and personal. We will also have fun snake crafts, face painting, and (of course) interactive Museum exhibits! This program is free with Museum admission.

Our next Families in Nature Summer Saturday event will feature Recycled Music with ZunZun. Dance to the eclectic rhythms of these talented musicians and make fun recycled crafts. There will be two bilingual shows at 11am and 12:30 pm on Saturday, July 7.

Going to the beach for the 4th of July? Celebrate the Fourth at the Museum! From 11am to 5pm on Independence Day, come to the Museum for great food, fun, and education. We will host a BBQ, have fun crafts for kids, and share nature awareness with the beach-goers. Save Our Shores will also be here on Seabright Beach handing out trash bags and encouraging stewardship. We hope to see you! Have a fun and safe holiday.

Our Annual Volunteer Luncheon was a great success last week with 30 dedicated volunteers in attendance. Our volunteers are one of our greatest strengths and we wouldn’t be able to provide our award-winning programs without them. So to all our volunteers, whether you help within our programs, help at events, set up exhibits, tend the garden, or serve on the board of directors: the Museum loves you! And we thank you for your service!

The Museum loves its interns too! Interning at the Museum is a rewarding experience that can help develop skills in education and program management. The Museum had six interns this spring working on projects varying from garden maintenance to field tours. We celebrated their accomplishments with a potluck and gifted them honorary memberships. Brianna Nelson and Desiree Loggins are continuing to work with us this summer, developing educational resources for our field programs. And Leticia Garcia is now our Summer Programs Coordinator. We are so grateful to have these talented ladies on our team!

The Buzzz has gone bi-monthly. We are no longer providing the Weekly Buzz, instead we are sending out the Buzzz every other week in an effort to streamline Museum communications. Thanks to all our readers who completed our Communications Questionnaire, we are honoring your feedback. And please remember that you can edit your subscription and subscribe to other newsletters like our Monthly News and our Volunteer Bulletin by using the link at the bottom of this email.

Our summer hours begin this week. Starting Sunday, June 3, the Museum will be open Wednesday through Sunday each week from 10am – 5pm. We will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. However, Tuesday, June 5, we will be open for Election Day as a polling place. Remember to find out where your local polling place is and be sure to vote!

Raccoon by Jenny Parks

Sunday is the last day to see the Art of Nature! Be sure to catch this beautiful exhibit of scientific illustrations while you can, and have fun illustrating your own specimens at the Illustration Station.

Calling on volunteers to help take down the Art of Nature exhibit. Monday, June 4, we have two shifts available: 10am-12:30pm or 1:30pm-4pm. You are welcome to show up and help out if you can spare the time. We will need all the helping hands we can get. Thank you!!!

Would your business like to partner with the Museum? We are currently seeking sponsors and business partners to support our Families In Nature: Summer Saturday Series. Sponsors receive proud promotion at the events, on our website, fliers, and newsletters. We are also seeking vendors to vend food or other services in alignment with our mission to connect people with nature and inspire stewardship. Contact Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org or call 420-6115 x12.

We want your feedback. We’ve designed a Communications Questionnaire to help determine how to best serve you the information you seek. It’s only three questions. Please take a moment to complete the survey. Thanks!!!

Please vote us into the Envirotoken program at New Leaf Markets, and BYOBag! Vote for your favorite organizations to be the beneficiaries of 10-cent tokens given to customers who bring their own grocery bags. This is a great fundraising opportunity, and we are very excited to be included on the ballot. Online voting is available through May 31. Vote now!

And if you need a reusable bag, Museum members receive free bags with membership. We also sell sturdy canvas bags in our gift shop – built to last!

10% off Children’s books on Thursdays! Bring your little steward to the Museum on Thursday afternoons for Nat Time: Natural History Storytime from 3:30-4pm. And while you’re here, check out our great selection of nature-themed children’s books in the gift shop. Mention this post and get 10% off all children’s books.

First Fridays are free at the Museum! Next Friday, June 1, enjoy free admission to the Museum all day from 10am-5pm. This is your last chance to experience the Art of Nature exhibit for free. The exhibit runs through Sunday, June 3, marking the beginning of our summer hours. Starting June 3, the Museum will be open Wednesdays through Sundays from 10am-5pm. We will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Calling on volunteers to help take down the Art of Nature exhibit. This is a great way to get involved with the Museum if you’ve never volunteered with us before. Monday, June 4, we have two shifts available: 10am-12:30pm or 1:30pm-4pm. Please RSVP to Jen@santacruzmuseums.org or call 420-6115 x15.

Would your business like to partner with the Museum? We are currently seeking sponsors and business partners to support our Families In Nature: Summer Saturday Series. Sponsors receive proud promotion at the events, on our website, fliers, and newsletters. Business partners who attend our events can vend food or other services in alignment with our mission to connect people with nature and inspire stewardship. Contact Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org or call 420-6115 x12.

We want your feedback. We’ve designed a Communications Questionnaire to help determine how to best serve you the information you seek. It’s only three questions. Please take a moment to complete the survey. Thanks!!!

Please have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Today is National Endangered Species Day. What can you do to help endangered species? Consuming fewer resources is a good start since habitat loss is the biggest threat to our endangered neighbors. And there are lots of other powerful actions you can take. Read this article to find out more. Also, check out what our friends at Happy Hollow Zoo & Park are doing to celebrate this special day. Get inspired! View some amazing artwork that children from around the country created for StopExtinction.org’s endangered species art contest.

Help us redesign our website at our User Experience day, Saturday, May 19 from 2:00-3:30pm at the Museum. We are starting to build a new website with the expert help of V-Link Studio, and we want your input. Come to a usability focus group and help us design a user experience that is fun and functional.

Want to support the Museum and drink good beer? Come to Thank You Thursday next week at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing. On Thursday, May 24, between noon and 10pm, the brewery will donate one dollar to the Museum for each beer you purchase. So tell your friends and family and neighbors and people you meet on the street. Drinking beer can be philanthropic!

New Leaf Markets added us to the ballot for this year’s Envirotoken program. Online voting is open until May 31. Please vote for us, and each time you bring your own bag to a local New Leaf store, you will get a 10 cent bag token to donate to the Museum or another organization of your choice. Shop locally and support local organizations!

We want your feedback. We’ve designed a Communications Questionnaire to help determine how to best serve you the information we want to share. It’s only three questions. Please take a moment to complete the survey. Thanks!!!

May is National Museum Month! Check out all the fun things happening at Museums and galleries throughout Santa Cruz. Members are invited to celebrate Museums Month with us by attending our annual Member’s Meeting on Wednesday, May 16 from 5:30-6:30pm. Rub elbows with staff and board members, nosh on light edibles, and give us your feedback. This is your Museum, let’s enjoy it together!

Sign up ASAP for the Families In Nature: Spring Adventure! Saturday, May 12 from 9am – 12noon, meet at Arana Gulch for a fun day of nature exploration. We’ll bring binoculars and hands-on activities to connect with different habitats and understand the plants and wildlife that call Arana home. Learn more and register here.

Thanks for coming to the First Friday Art Tour at the Museum! We had tons of fun watching the illustrators demonstrate their techniques, and polishing our own at the Illustration Station. If you haven’t seen the exhibit yet, be sure to catch it before June 3.

Announcing free first Fridays! Now, enjoy free Museum admission each and every first Friday of the month. Start your First Friday Art Tour early at the Museum and catch some of the best views in Santa Cruz. The Museum is currently open 10am – 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday.

Weigh in on our website! We are starting to build a new website with the expert help of V-Link Studio, and we want your input. Come to a usability focus group on Saturday, May 19 from 2-3:30pm at the Museum. Help us design a user experience that is fun and functional.

Museum Free Days are now every first Friday of the month! And this month we’ll be staying open late because . . .

The Art of Nature joins the First Friday Art Tour! Come to the free public reception for the Art of Nature on Friday, May 4th from 5-8pm. There will be live art demonstrations by featured illustrators, a fun Illustration Station for creating your own works of art, and light refreshments. Learn more.

Join us for volunteer tidepool collecting on Monday, May 7th at 7am. Wake with sun the and meet us at the Hook (where 41st Street ends at the ocean) to gather intertidal creatures for our Tidepool Exhibit at the Museum. This is a fun opportunity to learn about sea life in its native environment. For more information and to RSVP email liz@santacruzmuseums.org

Saddle up and don your helmet because next week is Bike to Work Week! Throughout the week, local businesses will offer free treats for bicycle commuters. This is a great way to show your commitment to being a steward of the natural world (and get in shape too)! Learn more about Bike to Work Week here in Santa Cruz.

Want to learn more about our local wild places? Come to the Families in Nature: Spring Adventure on Saturday, May 12th. Join Museum Education Manager, Deborah McArthur, for a day of exploration in Arana Gulch. We’ll bring binoculars and hands-on activities to connect with different habitats and understand the plants and wildlife that call Arana home. Learn more and register here.

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 28th we welcome you to attend the Art of Spring Wildflowers, an adult art class and wildflower hike. This class is our spring installment of the Connect with Nature Series. It’s a great way to develop your art skills, make new friends, and enjoy a day in nature. This class will begin at 10am at the Museum where participants will get expert art instruction from Ceiba art teacher, Collette Sanchez. Midday, the class will move to Wilder Ranch State Park for observation and field study of local wildflowers. Pre-registration is available online, or come to the Museum before class begins at 10am.

Black-Necked Stilts by Molly Keller

Next Monday, April 30th, join us for a Docent Training in leading the Art of Nature school tours. If you love nature illustration and want to teach children about it, this can be a fun and enriching opportunity! Docents are volunteers who lead one-hour presentations about Museum exhibits during school hours. The Art of Nature tours only run through June 1st, so we are looking for Docents with availability throughout the month of May. Please register online or call Deborah at 420-6115 x12.

Raccoon by Jenny Parks

The Art of Nature joins First Fridays! Come to the free public reception for the Art of Nature on Friday, May 4th from 5-8pm. There will be live art demonstrations by featured illustrators, a fun Illustration Station for creating your own works of art, and light refreshments. Learn more.

Book an Art of Nature school tour! These fun and interactive tours are available for classes and school groups throughout the month of May. Learn more about docent-led school tours.

Need advertising? Sponsor the Families in Nature: Summer Saturday Series! Summer Saturdays are filled with animals, music, crafts, and fun! All business sponsors get prominent recognition at the event, on our website, in press releases, email communications, and social media sites. For more information, contact Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org or call 420-6115 x12.

The bees took a little spring break … but now they’re back! Our demonstration bee hive was not doing very well, early this spring. So our fantastic volunteer beekeeper, Jeff Perez, doctored the hive, and they are happy and healthy again. Come see if you can find the queen!

The Museum phone system has changed. Now when you call our main line, (831) 420-6115, you will be presented with extension options to reach the staff members you are seeking. Here’s a list of our new extensions:

Liz Broughton, Visitor Services Manager, x10

Alie Welch, Financial Adminsitrator, x11

Deborah McArthur, Education Manager, x12

Zach Deutsch-Gross, Sandhills Coordinator, x13

Peter Wampler, Neary Lagoon Coordinator, x14

Jenny Barker, Volunteer & Communications Coordinator, x15

Dan Harder, Executive Director, x16