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Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz
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Touchpools are a hit with toddlers
Unless you are from Santa Cruz, you probably haven't heard about the Seymour Marine Discovery Center at UCSC. While much smaller than its famous cousin in Monterrey, the center is an inexpensive and easy to access alternative closer to the Bay Area. It makes a nice complement to the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, another inexpensive family destination.
The center is perched on a cliff overlooking the Monterrey Bay just west of Santa Cruz near the Natural Bridges State Beach which is a perfect complement to your time at the center. The parking lot gets quite fool on weekends so try and go during the week or early. The Center is open, Tuesday through Saturday, 10-5 and on Sundays from noon to 5. The entrance fee is $6 for adults. Children 4-16 pay $4.
The center is quite small but packs a lot of education in a small space. The tanks are not only filled with native ocean life but also pose questions for visitors about the kinds of experiments that the scientists and University students might conduct with the specimens, an approach I have not seen elsewhere. Of course the highlight for my toddlers were the touchpools where the docents let the Children see and touch the tidepool creatures up close in buckets.
Also, don't miss the opportunity to take a docent led walk around the facility which includes a visit to the dolphins who are used for research - a big hit with the toddlers. There are also more in-depth, 75 minute marine mammal research tours which are probably best for adults and teenage children.
On Sunday afternoons there are also sea-life inspired craft projects for kids.
The gift shop has an extensive selection of books, toys, games and decorative items, on par with any other museum shop I have visited.
On November 12th, 2009, from 7-9 is an opportunity to listen to a lecture on the California Sea Otter. This lecture focuses on the legacy of the Exxon Valdex disaster. The speakers will be Terrie Williams, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCSC; David Jessup, DVM, Senior Wildlife Veterinarian & Director, Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, California Department of Fish and Game, Santa Cruz. Ah, you lucky, local Santa Cruzians!
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