Family Nature Day

It's Family Nature Day at the SB Museum of Natural History.  We are celebrating the opening of the Nature Club House.  Come to the Backyard and see this new use of a very old facility.  We still have boats, forts to build, mud pies, and dancing on the stage.  Inside we have all kinds of critters that are prevalent right now.  Western fence lizards, a ring-necked snake, Ten-lined June Beetles (that hiss), Darkling beetles (AKA stink bugs), Ironclad beetles, and of course, pill bugs and earth worms.  Come use our equipment and dig to find more things living in our compost.

Free and Alive at SB Film Festival

Where to go in three counties!

The Outdoor School at Rancho Allegre is an outstanding program giving kids from three counties a chance to learn and grow outdoors. From their website, I recommend "What's Next?" http://whatnext.theoutdoorschool.org/Whats_Next/Counties.html
Follow this link to find the local outdoor possibilities for getting kids outside.

Rains Have Come

The seasons change in Santa Barbara according to the rain, and the rains have come. With a week of damp, rainy weather the Back Yard should be re-visited by lots of critters. Kids have enjoyed a summer of tadpoles turning into frogs in the Museum's "pond." Now kids pass the pond and ask where all the frogs have gone. In the words of an eight year old, "Metamorphosis just blows my mind!"

Family Nature Day

The 3rd Sunday of every month is Family Nature Day at the Museum of Natural History. Bring a lunch for a picnic in the picnic area and spend the day in our Backyard. Make mud pies, build a fort, hunt for dragonfly nymphs in the creek, race boats on the water course, dance, and celebrate being alive in nature. Children who play outside are smarter, healthier, and happier.

"Outdoor play and informal learning in natural environments can now be seen as crucial to children's health and as a self-motivating means of assimilating knowledge about the natural world."
F. Martensson

Family Nature Day May 16

On May 16, Free Sunday at the Museum of Natural History, we will have another day of outdoor activities for families. Kids will be invited to catch (and release) tadpoles or lizards, dig for critters, make mud pies, build forts, invent small worlds for elves, gnomes, or fairies, dance, sing, climb boulders, hike, explore, jump rope, or just read and draw outdoors. It's Earth Day every day at the Museum of Natural History.

Tadpoles and Fun

Chorus frogs are calling for mates, laying eggs, and the tadpole rush is on in ponds and still water. We have an area at the Museum of Natural History where dip nets and collection cups are available for children. Watching tadpoles grow into frogs is great fun. As an eight year old said, "Metamorphosis just blows my mind!!"