Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument: A Tour

Eric Johnson points toward the grand swath of the Pacific Ocean from the sweeping vantage point of Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument. Photo by Mike Kahn.

The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History and Bureau of Land Management offer a glimpse at a national treasure just over the hill.

Fun and Games for Students in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Quail Hollow Pond is a great place for animal tracking! Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History photo.

Here are a couple of kid-friendly hikes and gamified educational activities in the hills near Santa Cruz, just 45 minutes from Silicon Valley.

Exhibit: The National Monument on Santa Cruz’s North Coast

The coastal terraces of Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument. Museum photo.

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History presents ‘Cotoni-Coast Dairies: Monumental Steps,’ celebrating a unique piece of land and the folks who protected it.

The Garden Museum of Santa Cruz’s Seabright Neighborhood

Native butterflies love wildflowers. Credit: Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.

The wildflowers go off in the Garden Learning Center that surrounds the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.

Fossils in Santa Cruz Mountains and Beaches

Wayne Thompson, paleontologist advisor for the Museum. Credit: Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.

Learn about the traces and remains of ancient creatures that regularly surface in Santa Cruz, and about the rock formations millions of years old that harbor them.

Santa Cruz Celebrates Mushroom Bloom at Historic Fungus Fair

Highly poisonous Amanita muscaria (aka, fly agaric mushroom, smurf mushroom, Super Mario mushroom) ten feet from the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. Photo by Bridget Lyons.

The Fungus Fair celebrates its 50th, this year at the London Nelson Center in Downtown Santa Cruz, as mushrooms seem to pop up everywhere.