August 1984, the Museum produced Volume 1, No. 1 of the Whale Spout. A thick, black notebook at the docent desk archives the history of our Museum docent program with newsletters until Volume 13, No. 11 in July 2001. The Whale Spout as a paper newsletter was produced sporadically through 2006.
And now, we present, the return of the Whale Spout! Modernized.
Please check the docent calendar and sign up for May programs! http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/docents/
The Museum tour schedule is packed this month with our special Art of Nature programs. Experienced docents, if you missed the training and would like to participate in the Art of Nature, you may observe and jump in to leading tours.
Docent trainings
Welcome to our new spring docent trainees! Welcome to Cathy Spears, Sheri Norbosh and Katie Stubblefield who joined our Sandhills training at the Randall Morgan Preserve. We’re excited to have you join us for geology and palentology field program. Alyson Bloom, Gerre Jones & Rebecca Quinn are new trainees of our Art of Nature program. If you see them, introduce yourself, and let them know we’re happy to have them on board! It’s always great to have our experienced docents at training to add to your programs and contribute your knowledge.
NEW summer docent training! – Saturday, June 30, 10am-1pm. We are excited to pilot a new docent program! “On the spot” will engage people walking by with shoreline observations. Whale, otters, sea lions, coastal birds, geology, fossils, our watershed! Docents can check out a spotting scope (we have two!) and resource materials from the front desk to set up on East Cliff across from the Museum. There is so much to see and interpret! Come to the training to learn more and help us develop this program!
Upcoming Docent events
Docent Enrichment – Gurnee taxidermy field trip – Monday, May 21, 10am-1pm. Freeze-dried – not stuffed! We’ll learn about our collections and the special technique of freeze-dried taxonomy that Richard Gurnee has perfected right here in Santa Cruz County. We’ll begin at the Museum and travel to Gurnee’s studio in Watsonville to learn more. Here’s a link to some great info on Mr. Gurnee: http://www.watsonvillewetlandswatch.org/eNewsletters/201204/201204Newsletter_files/RichardGurnee.pdf
Volunteer luncheon – Monday, June 11, 11am-1pm. Mark your calendars for this celebration of all the great work you do through the school year. We’ll provide the food in our outdoor amphitheater, come enjoy the great company beside our beautiful Pilkington Creek! Please RSVP to Jen (jen@santacruzmuseums.org, 420-6115 ext. 15) so we know how much food to plan for!
Program Updates
Art of Nature – Oh the joy of mixed media!! Our updated school tour program is getting going full force this week. A good suggestion from last week: do a quick “gallery walk” tour around the art in the front and middle rooms on the way to seat the kids in the back room for the introduction. Docents may also flip-flop the “observation activities” and the Image Hunt. Try doing the Mixed Media first and the Image Hunt after. Let Deb or Liz know if art supplies are getting low.
Storytime – We’ve decided to keep the weekly program going through the summer months! Thank you docents for making this new program a success. Families love it (and it’s so much fun!) Experienced docents, if you missed the January storytime training, but would like to participate leading “Nat Time”, talk to Deb.
Hosting – As of Monday, we have new critters in the tidepool tank including a purple sea urchin! Gently touch the urchin spines. Notice how they wiggle! Related to sea stars (both are echinoderms, meaning “spiny skin”), urchins also have tube feet to move around. They are nocturnal herbivores; they love to all sorts of seaweeds (greens, reds and browns – yum!)
Neary Lagoon – 21 ducklings in the marsh? How adorable! If you haven’t been out to Neary to see the program, and might be interested for next year, please go observe a tour. The Neary schedule is online: http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/docents/ – Contact Pete to let him know you’ll be there. BTW, did you know that the carp that live in Neary Lagoon can swallow a duckling? Wow!
Sandhills – First field trips of the season are happening this week! The Scotts Valley middle school kids are learning about their own backyard. If you’d like to observe one of the field trips (to participate next fall as the program grows!), upcoming field trips dates are: May 9, 11,18, 21, and 23, 12:30-2:30 at the Morgan Preserve. Contact Zack to confirm (zack@santacruzmuseums.org, 420-6115 ext. 13).
Feel free to post comments on this Whale Spout blog. It’s a great way for us to communicate as a community. Thank you!!!
*Ohlone and Animal tours – Please check the docent calendar and sign up for April programs! http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/docents/
Upcoming trainings
Sandhills training –Monday, April 23, 2pm-4pm at Randall Morgan Preserve
Our spring field season is approaching (first field trip is May 1) and we’re excited about our geology/fossils/restoration field program. Join us for our spring training and be a part of this fun and growing program!! Email Zack at (sandhills@santacruzmuseums.org) so we know how many folks to expect.
Art of Nature school tour training – Monday, April 30, 10am-1pm
Through the month of May, the Museum invites school classes to come view our Art of Nature exhibit and participate in a special docent-led illustration and art program. Please plan to come to the training even if you’ve done the programs before, we’re making a few changes this year. Email Deb (Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org) so we know how many folks to expect.
Upcoming Docent events
Volunteer Appreciation Week outing to the Seymour Center –Wednesday, April 18, 3:30-5pm
Thank you for everything you do to help connect people with nature and inspire stewardship! In honor of National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we’d like to say thank you to all our committed volunteers in a special way. All active volunteers are invited to attend a free tour of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, led by Visitor Programs Manager, Chris Reeves. Please meet at the Seymour Center, 100 Shaffer Road, by 3:30pm. A carpool will be meeting at the Museum of Natural History at 3:00, and departing by 3:15pm. We only have room for 20 people on this tour, so please RSVP to Jen@santacruzmuseums.org.
Docent enrichment – BATs at Neary Lagoon – Monday, April 23 6:45pm-dark
Our April enrichment will be at Neary Lagoon with bat biologist Fred Frick. We will start the evening with a brief lecture and discussion of local bat natural history and then go on a bat walk in Neary Lagoon. We will learn about local species and how bat biologists study these animals. The bat walk will include demonstration of how to use a bat detector to hear the ultrasonic calls of bats as they forage over Neary lagoon. We will also spotlights bat foraging over the lagoon. Please be sure to bring a head light and sturdy shoes and a layer.
*Remember docents, these enrichments are part of your training and we need your attendance to make these worthwhile! Please email Deb (Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org) if you cannot make it.
Docent Enrichment – Gurnee taxidermy field trip – Monday, May 21, 10am-1pm
Freeze-dried – not stuffed! We’ll learn about our collections and the special technique of freeze-dried taxonomy that Richard Gurnee has perfect right here in Santa Cruz County. We’ll begin at the Museum and travel to Gurnee’s studio in Watsonville to learn more.
End-of-year luncheon – Monday, June 11, 11am-1pm
Mark your calendars for this celebration of all the great work you do through the school year. We’ll provide the food, come enjoy the great company!
Program Updates
Storytime –The public library has some great kits with books that match some of our natural history themes. Bugs, reptiles, forest, space, etc. Nancy used the pond life kit which included puppets and felt board cut outs! Here’s the link: http://www.santacruzpl.org/kids/readtome/kits/themes/6/
Hosting – We now have the Illustration Station set up! This is a great way to engage visitors. Other new exhibit floor interactives include encouraging visitors to make a tule boat or doll, recording on the topo map how you have connected to nature, and using the Ohlone cards to connect with the mural and exhibits in the front room. You can also direct families to the book nook area that has a comfy bean bag and new area rug.
Neary Lagoon – Docents, let us know what you have seen recently at Neary! Any ducklings in the marsh? What great field experiences can you share?
Logistics
We will be sending out an email with updated docent contacts (email and phone numbers). Please let Deborah know if you do not want your information shared with the other docents.
Feel free to post comments on this Whale Spout blog. It’s a great way for us to communicate as a community. Thank you!!!
For those of you who missed the great Docent Enrichment with Mike Merritt on Monday, here are the notes from his presentation. Please use this blog to post comments and create discussion about this wonderful content. I’ll also be posting notes from our small break-out groups. We really look forward to having some online conversations about these topics. And continuing to build our skills as educators and interpreters!
Docent Enrichment – March 2012
Presentation by Mike Merritt, Interpretive Ranger at Ano Nuevo State Park
Beyond the Information: Using Interpretive Techniques
Theme of this talk: There is more to interpretation than information
4 principles of professional interpretation: M.O.R.E. (each should have equal representation)
M. – Main Message (have a strong story/theme to work from)
O. – Organized
R. – Relevant
E. – Enjoyable
Mike’s top 5 things you can do to be an amazing interpreter:
Happy lucky clovers to you, docents!
News
Our Bees are Back!- Our volunteer beekeeper Jeff Perez installed a brand new colony of bees in our brand new observation hive. This new hive should make it easier to see the queen (who is bigger than all the other bees), so be sure to have all adult and child visitors hunt for her. If you ever get questions about bees you can’t answer or have questions yourself, please let us know and we’ll help educate you.
Upcoming Docent events
March docent enrichment – Skills Workshop – Monday, March 19, 10am-1pm
ALL DOCENTS/HOSTS/STORYTELLERS SHOULD ATTEND! We will have a special presentation by Mike Merritt, Interpretive Ranger at Ano Nuevo State Park. We are planning small group
discussions and sharing about our interpretive skills. This is the most important
enrichment of the year and we are excited to have all of you (Neary, Sandhills,
Ohlone, Animal, Art of Nature, Storytime and Hosting docents) be a part of it!!
Volunteer Appreciation Week outing to the Seymour Center – NEW! –
Wednesday, April 18, 3:30-5pm
Thank you for everything you do to help connect people with nature and inspire
stewardship! In honor of National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we’d like to say
thank you to all our committed volunteers in a special way. All active volunteers are
invited to attend a free tour of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, led by Visitor
Programs Manager, Chris Reeves. Please meet at the Seymour Center, 100 Shaffer
Road, by 3:30pm. A carpool will be meeting at the Museum of Natural History at
3:00, and departing by 3:15pm. We only have room for 20 people on this tour, so
please RSVP to Jen@santacruzmuseums.org.
Bats at Neary Lagoon – date confirmed! – Monday, April 23 6:45pm-dark
Our April enrichment will be at Neary Lagoon with bat biologist Fred Frick. We’ll learn about our local flying mammals as the sun goes down.
Sandhills training – NEW DATE!!! Monday, April 23, 2pm-4pm at Randall Morgan Preserve
Our spring field season is approaching (first field trip is May 1) and we’re
excited about our geology/fossils/restoration field program. Join us for our
spring training and be a part of this fun and growing program!! Email Zack at
(sandhills@santacruzmuseums.org) so we know how many folks to expect.
Raccoon by Jenny Parks
Art of Nature school tour training – Monday, April 30, 10am-1pm
Through the month of May, the Museum invites school classes to come view our Art of Nature exhibit and participate in a special docent-led illustration and art program. Please plan to come to the training even if you’ve done the programs before, we’re making a few changes this year.Email Deb (Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org) so we know how many folks to expect.
Docent cabinets – Reminder to take time after your programs to put all artifacts in the correct bins. Let Liz or Deb know if anything needs repair or upgrade. Thanks!
Programs
Animal and Ohlone Tours- There are still plenty of tours in April that need docents. Stop by the Museum or check out the online calendar and contact Liz to sign up.
Storytime –Don’t forget about the amazing resources we have to use with these programs: real skulls, the Ohlone dolls and artifacts, puppets, wooden figures, and live animals! If anyone wants to do a program on snakes, we have a volunteer who has offered to bring in a live one…keep signing up and keep the great energy
flowing! http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/docents/
Hosting – What are you doing next Saturday? Sign up for upcoming shifts! We will be having another hosting orientation on March 19, 3:30-5:30. If you are a current docent for another program and would like to learn about how to host on Saturdays, you are welcome to come!
Volunteer opportunities – Feeling like doing more? Here are the upcoming dates
when we need help:
Feel free to post comments on this Whale Spout blog. It’s a great way for us to
communicate as a community. Again, thank you, docents, we love you. See you
soon!!
Happy Leap Day week, docents! Thank you for being a part of our fantastic programs. We couldn’t do it without YOU! Here’s our recent news:
Upcoming Docent Events
Docent Mixer at the Seymour Center – Thursday, March 1, 5:30-9pm
You can still join us for the Santa Cruz museum and informal education community meeting this Thursday at the Seymour Center. Be a part of this first ever networking event! And join staff at the Santa Cruz Mountain brewery after 9pm!
March Docent Enrichment –Skills Workshop – Monday, March 19, 10am-1pm
All docents please attend!!! We will have a special presentation by Mike Merritt, Interpretive Ranger at Ano Nuevo State Park. We are planning small group discussions and sharing about our interpretive skills. This is the most important enrichment of the year and we are excited to have all of you (Neary, Sandhills, Ohlone, Animal, Art of Nature, Storytime and Hosting docents) be a part of it!!
Sandhills Training – Monday, April 2, 2pm-4pm at Randall Morgan Preserve
Our spring field season is approaching and we’re excited about having more schools participate in our geology/fossils/restoration field program. Join us for our spring training and be a part of this fun and growing program!! Email Deb (Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org) so we know how many folks to expect.
Art of Nature School Tour Training – Monday, April 30, 10am-1pm
Through the month of May, the Museum invites school classes to come view our Art of Nature exhibit and participate in a special docent-led illustration and art program. If you have not yet been trained to lead these tours, please come to the training!! Email Deb (Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org) so we know how many to expect.
Logistics
Name Badges – There are some blank Docent name badges on the cork board behind the front desk. Feel free to write your name on one of them if you do not have your badge yet. We are changing our LOGO and will be making new name badges for everyone, soon!
Unisex Bathrooms – Have you noticed that we have switched signs on the bathrooms? We now have 2 unisex bathrooms so you can direct everyone in either direction for the facilities.
Ohlone Room – Remember to please keep hard acorn shells out of the mortar! Please break open the acorns and use only the nut inside for grinding into acorn flour. Thanks!
Programs
Ohlone and Animal Tours – March is starting to fill up with new tour dates. Check the online calendar, and sign up, so we don’t have to call around. Here’s the quick link: http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/docents/
Storytime – What a great success this program has been in the first month! Groundhogs, whales, coyotes, and animal love!! We’ve had about a dozen kids for each program, which is perfect. Decomposers (banana slug in the house!), frogs, birds and forests are coming up. Don’t forget about the amazing resources we have to use with these programs: real skulls, the Ohlone dolls and artifacts, puppets, wooden figures, and live animals! If anyone wants to do a program on snakes, we have a volunteer who has offered to bring in a live one…keep signing up and keep the great energy flowing! http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/docents/
Hosting – Thank you to our first month of hosts! You are making the Museum such a personal place! It’s fun reading your logs, “I loved getting people excited!” and “Children laughed at my jokes at the tidepool tank!” Please look at your March schedules and sign up for Saturday shifts (http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/docents/) by contacting Liz at 420-6115, or liz@santacruzmuseums.org.
Neary Lagoon – Congratulations to all Neary docents for the recent Superintendent’s Award for Museum Education. Pete made a special toast (with Iced Tea) to our volunteer community for making this program work so well!! We love you! Tours are getting rolling for the spring. Check the calendar and contact Pete to sign up today!
Volunteer opportunities – Feel like being more involved? Have friends who want to help? Here are our other upcoming volunteer opportunities:
Tide Pool Specimen Collecting – Monday, March 5th at 2:30pm
Meet us at the Hook (at the end of 41st Ave) to help collect animals and plants for the Museum Tide Pool Tank from local tide pools. Bring water shoes or wading boots if you have them. RVSP with Liz (liz@santacruzmuseums.org)
Art of Nature Exhibit Set-Up – April 2nd (two shifts available) 10am-12pm & 1pm-3pm
Raccoon by Jenny Parks
The Art of Nature show comes to the Museum and we will need lots of volunteers to help set up the exhibit. Excellent introduction to museum curating!
Art of Nature Opening Night – April 6th (two shifts available) 5:30-7pm & 7-8:30pm
This opening night will require some helping hands. Some volunteer tasks may include asking patrons to sign the guest book, pouring wine and restocking refreshments.
Art of Nature First Friday- May 4th (two shifts available) 5:00-7pm & 7-8:30pm
The Art of Nature show will participate in the First Friday Art Walk! We will again need some helping hands to help guest sign-in, pour wine, and restock refreshments.
Feel free to post comments on this Whale Spout blog. It’s a great way for us to communicate as a community. Again, thank you, docents, we love you. See you soon!!
Hey Docents, This is a busy time of the year with new programs beginning, so we’re sending out another Whale Spout this week. Here’s the news:
We have some new additions to our Ohlone cabinet!
Docent Greg Kolar has made some hand drills with chert arrow tips. These were spun between the palms, like the fire-making drills. The pump-drills we have (with the suspended handle, flywheel and metal bit that kids LOVE to master) were introduced by the Spanish in the late 1700’s. The new, more efficient pump-drills then replaced the older hand-drills.
We now have an atlatl and spear! The atlatl, or spear thrower, was used by native people before the bow and arrow and was effective against large animals (such as mammoths and mastodons). As these animals died out with the last ice age, hunters had to seek smaller game (elk, deer and antelope) and the spears were replaced by the bow and arrow. The long spear shaft is located in Docent Cabinet #1, and the foreshaft and atlatl are on the over-sized item shelf in Docent Cabinet #2.
Honeybee Hive Update
As some of you may have noticed, our bees have once again left for the winter. In the winter the queen stops laying brood so the population normally gets smaller, but the rest have either died or moved on from our hive. We hope to get a new colony and a new hive (so it’s easier to see the queen!) later in the winter/early spring. So be sure to encourage kids to come back and check on our progress a little later in the year.
Hosting
Our hosting artifact cart has arrived! Here’s what it looks like. And we have modernized our “log” so it is electronic (saving paper, daily!) Hosts, at the end of your shift, log your shift information on the laptop at the front desk. Click the Hosting log icon on the desktop and fill out the e-form. Ask Mary at the front desk on Saturdays if you have any questions.
Nat Time
Storytime logs are now electronic too! Liz will point you to the Nat Time icon on the laptop to fill in what books and songs you did that week. Information will automatically be entered into a spreadsheet where we can see week to week programs!
Docent event @ the Seymour Center
March 1, 5:30-9pm. Here’s our invitation from the Seymour Center “An opportunity has opened up to have a screening of Otter 501, a new movie by Sea Studios. The Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab and Save Our Shores would like to take this opportunity to invite the staff and volunteers of other environmental and science education entities in the Santa Cruz area to come spend the evening at the Seymour Center to watch the screening of Otter 501. Additionally, we hope to provide a forum for each institution to share their work and the basics of what we all do, with our collective staff and volunteers. We all work hard for similar goals and often do not have the time and resources to connect with each other, collaborate, or even learn the specifics of each others’ programs. In the interest of working together as a community, it may help to take this opportunity to share the highlights of what we all do, and what resources we offer our community.
Please let Deb know by February 17 if you plan to attend so we can give them an estimate of how many people to expect. Thanks!
Ohlone News
Where is the arrow shaft? It has just returned to the Museum after needed repairs. Norm Kidder, our Ohlone artifact specialist, replaced the fletch (feathers), and made two new tips for the shaft. Gunnela pointed out that the bird blunt tip and the wooden pointed tip were missing. If you notice any other artifacts that need repairs, please let Deborah know!
Hosting Program
Thank you to the wonderful group of trainees who attended last Monday’s hosting training. We are very excited to start this program. Please go to the docent calendar and see which Saturday shifts are available, and call Liz (420-6115) to sign up. The 11-1pm shifts will overlap slightly with our Connect with Nature series in February, so we’ll have a great group in the Museum to start hosting practice!
Animal Tours
New Animal tour trainees! Coordinate observations with Liz (420-6115) and get your fingerprinting in. We’re excited to have you join our team! For those of you who were recently fingerprinted, thank you for your patience as Jen gets your results and reimbursements to you.
“Nat Time” Storytime
Our Groundhog Day kick-off for Nat Time was a huge success! Those who attended the training, look at the docent calendar, partner up and sign on. Remember, Liz and Deb are available if you have any questions about themes and flow. Come observe on Thursday afternoons. And tell a friend about this great new program!
Neary Lagoon Program
Field season resumes on February 10. Take a look at the Neary docent calendar and call or email Pete to sign up. Look for new additions to the schedule as teachers sign up. We’re looking forward to an awesome winter and spring 2012!
Sandhills Exploration
Mark your calendar for the Sandhills Springtime Training on Monday, April 2. We will be revisiting the Randall Morgan Preserve after a fallow winter—checking out changes to the landscape, meeting the new land steward, and preparing ourselves for the Spring season of field trips!
Migration Festival Outreach Opportunity
The 26th annual Migration Festival will be held Saturday, February 11th from 11am – 4pm at Natural Bridges State Park. The Museum will host an educational booth and we are looking for qualified volunteers to help us staff the booth. This year, we’ve been asked to highlight a specific migratory creature. We will display artifacts of the Ohlone people and their seasonal migrations in pursuit of various food sources. All volunteers get a free lunch coupon. Please email Jen@santacruzmuseums.org if you’re interested.
Docent Enrichment
Our trip to visit the elephant seals at Ano Nuevo State Park is coming up, February 13th. Space is limited so you MUST let Deborah know if you would like to go. We will meet at the Museum at 2:15pm to carpool up the coast. We will most likely return after sunset. Call 420-1168 or email Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org ASAP!
New date for the calendar! The evening of March 1st, 5:30-9pm, we have been invited to join docents from Save our Shores, the Museum of Art and History, and the Seymour Center, for an evening mixer, and discussion of the film Otter 501. Let’s have a great showing from our docent program! Please let Deb (deborah@santacruzmuseums.org) know by Friday, February 17 if you can go, since they will need the numbers to plan for the event.
Thank You Notes
Don’t forget to look at the students’ thank you letters by the docent key-chain cabinet. Hilary and Vicki have cute cards waiting for them.
Joining the Buzz
We want to encourage families to stay connected to Museum after they attend our programs. We have a sign-up at the front desk (and at our field trips) for adults/chaperons to write down their email addresses and we’ll connect them to the Weekly Buzz blog.
Thank you docent volunteers! If you have any ideas, there is an old wooden box in the offices labeled “Docent suggestions” – or talk to us. We love having your input!
