August 27

8:52 AM /

0

Illuminating the World’s Fastest Insects

By Owen Duncan

Imagine yourself at the edge of a giant, barren-looking salt flat , extending for miles. At sunset, no animals are in view. As the gloom deepens, you switch on a portable blacklight at your side—a cheap gizmo designed for sale as dorm room decor. Before long, hundreds of insects have been attracted to your beacon in the dark. To understand how this simple party trick can be deployed in service of science, continue reading an interview with Schlinger Chair of Entomology, Alex Harman, Ph.D.

Understand the attraction

July 23

5:50 PM /

0

Deckers and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Roots of a Community Partnership

By Michelle L. Apodaca

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a special gem in our community. For generations, it has served as a place where children encounter science through wonder, families learn together, and adults continue discovering the richness of the Central Coast’s natural and cultural heritage. From school field trips and hands-on education to exhibits that bring prehistoric creatures, local ecosystems, and regional history to life, the Museum offers incredible educational opportunities for both children and adults.

Learn about our partnership

June 20

3:43 PM /

1

The Natural History of Our Native Bees

By Jorge De La Cruz

While most people think of honey bees when they think of the word “bee,” the sheer diversity of bees is deeply underappreciated. While honey bees are famously eusocial animals (like ants) with complex caste systems that construct communal hives that may consist of thousands of individuals, this is not true of all bees. A vast majority of bees—as much as 75%—are actually solitary. In fact, more species are parasitic than social, cleverly exploiting other species to raise their own offspring. 

Discover the diversity of bees

May 22

10:27 AM /

0

My Week with the Butterfly Farmers

By Kim Zsembik

This past February, I was invited to fly down to Costa Rica for a seven-day immersion program in butterfly farming. The goals of this immersion program were to gain a broader understanding of the role and impact of the butterfly industry in Costa Rica and to foster a deeper connection between butterfly farmers and exhibitors like the Museum. My personal goals as the Museum’s butterfly wrangler were to learn as much as I could about the business of butterfly farming, to meet the people behind the work, and to see a wild Blue Morpho. I was looking for a bit of adventure. My trip to Costa Rica was one of the most enriching experiences of my life. I gained so much respect for the hard work that goes into raising butterflies.

Fly to Costa Rica with Kim

April 25

3:37 PM /

0

Tar Pits Bring Researchers Together

By Owen Duncan

Something happened about 11–13,000 years ago that drove most large animals in the Americas extinct, dooming the mammoth, mastodon, and saber-toothed cat, among many others. The megafauna catastrophe seen in the Americas also unfolded in other parts of the world, apparently staggered by thousands of years. Scientists have proposed theories about the causes of this Late Pleistocene extinction event, assigning varied degrees of responsibility to climate change and human activity. Reaching scientific consensus around the solution to this whodunnit requires more data about who died when.

Dig into the story

April 18

9:58 AM /

0

This Clam Wants Your Vote

By Owen Duncan

The female Mysterious Moon Clam glides through life with the two parts of her shell wide open and the tiny male clam riding along on her back. She moves with surprising agility through dark sponge galleries and shrimp burrows. This enigmatic, charismatic species is among the top five animals in the running for International Mollusc of the Year. Scientists here at the Museum hope to secure your vote and win free gene sequencing to better understand how the wide-open clam evolved.

Fall in love with this curious clam

April 10

1:10 PM /

1

Why We Hate Light Pollution and How We Can Stop It

By Owen Duncan

“Light pollution has such wide-ranging impacts that there is something for everyone to hate about it,” says Mike Wondolowski, a local advocate for dark skies. He’s absolutely right. Wasted light in the outdoors causes a host of side effects for everyone.

Learn and act

March 21

2:19 PM /

0

Remembering Ernestine Ygnacio-DeSoto

By John Johnson, Jan Timbrook, and Owen Duncan

Chumash Elder Ernestine Ygnacio-DeSoto (1938–2026) was an acknowledged force of nature here in the land of her ancestors. She drew on her uniquely lived expertise to serve as a consultant not only for innumerable cultural institutions in Santa Barbara, but for exhibits at the National Museum of the American Indian and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Here at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, she was also a longtime research colleague and a friend. We bonded over the foods we loved, gossip at the basketweaving table, and our shared passion for keeping alive the memories and practices indigenous to this part of the world.

Remember Ernestine with us

February 05

1:58 PM /

0

From Bears to Woodrats on Her Winding Journey to Curation

By Owen Duncan

an interview with new Curator of Mammalogy, Ally Coconis, Ph.D.

Owen: How did mammalogy become your focus?

Ally: A love of nature was innate, but I think a focus on mammals came from a mix of opportunity and great mentors. The spark that lit the fire was an internship for wildlife management in Yosemite National Park where the focus is on human-wildlife conflict with bears.

Get to know Dr. Coconis

December 20

2:25 PM /

1

Policy on Guam’s Coral Reefs

By Fiona Diskin

While only covering less than 1% of the planet, certain ecosystems are home to 25% of the world’s biodiversity. They are some of the planet’s most precious cargo, and in the midst of global change, they require extra protection.

Meet the Sea Center alumna protecting coral reefs

October 21

10:24 AM /

1

Tidying Up Our Tides

By Fiona Diskin

Anyone who has had the chance to visit Santa Barbara can recognize it is one of a kind. From the mountains to the ocean, beauty is around every corner, but the community of people is where the real beauty lies. The Santa Barbara community is not ordinary in its devotion to generosity, environmentalism, and enriching the well being of its members. In fact, Santa Barbara has the second highest number of nonprofits per capita in California. Addressing various needs, these organizations keep the town we love alive and thriving; one of these organizations is very close to the heart of the Sea Center: Tidy Seas.

It started with Sea Center Volunteer Ryan Wong...

October 14

10:14 AM /

0

Building Bridges Across Time & Cultures: Anima Mundi & SBMNH

By Anima Mundi and SBMNH staff

The history of collaboration between the Vatican Ethnological Museum (today Anima Mundi) and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) can be traced back to 1984, when SBMNH Curator of Anthropology Travis Hudson, Ph.D., visited Rome to meet with Vatican Missionary Ethnological Museum Head Curator Fr. Joseph Penkowski SVD. Together, Hudson and Penkowski examined objects from California Indigenous communities firsthand, documenting material culture. Although no Chumash baskets were identified, Hudson recognized several baskets from other communities, including Pomo, Paiute and Miwok, contributing to the process of recontextualizing and understanding the collections at the Vatican.

Read more

October 10

1:28 PM /

0

The Rubin Observatory: A New Engine for Discovery

By Jonah Gabriel Haas

Recently, our neighbors at Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) joined us at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for an exciting evening dedicated to one of the most ambitious scientific projects of our time: the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The event, hosted by LCO scientist Rachel Street, promised to take us “beyond the pretty pictures” and it delivered.

Explore the cosmos

October 04

10:36 AM /

1

She's Here for the Sea Bugs

By Owen Duncan

An interview with visiting Ph.D. candidate Siena McKim, who came to borrow some amphipods from the Department of Invertebrate Zoology (IZ)

Owen Duncan: What are amphipods? I feel like they’re a kind of marine crustacean, right?

Siena McKim: Yes. You already know amphipods. If you go to the beach, you have these beach hopper guys hopping around—those are big amphipods. You think they're eating you, but they're not. They're just like, “Are you dead? If you are, I'm going to eat you.” Most amphipods are in the sea.

Discover sneaky silk-spinners

August 28

3:00 PM /

2

The White Abalone Midwife

By Fiona Diskin

Everyone should love the White Abalone; as a keystone species, they maintain our kelp forests, allowing for high biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. They are understory algae grazers known by Nora Frank as the “lawnmowers and Roombas of the sea.” Few people love the White Abalone quite as much as Nora, the current husbandry and data manager of the White Abalone Culture Lab at UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory.

Dive into Nora's history with White Abalone

July 25

1:18 PM /

0

Mars Ingenuity Pilot Touches Down at Museum

By Owen Duncan

Fleischmann Auditorium vibrated with excitement like a mission control room before a downlink. The data from another planet came via Santa Barbara local Martin Cacan, Ph.D., who shared true stories from his adventures piloting a plucky little helicopter on Mars: the aptly-named Ingenuity.

Explore Mars with Ingenuity's chief pilot

July 15

1:00 PM /

1

New Curator Wants Your Help Finding Insects

By Owen Duncan

An interview with new Schlinger Chair of Entomology Alex Harman, Ph.D.

Owen: You are an all-around naturalist.

Alex: I try to be. When you're outside catching insects, you run into weird-looking snakes, and you hear birds you've never heard before. It was only a matter of time before I got sucked into those other groups. Still working on plants. Plants are tough. There's a lot of plants out there.

Owen: How did entomology become your focus?

Get to know Dr. Harman

July 12

1:32 PM /

0

Las Cumbres Observatory Aids Discovery of Interstellar Comet

By Sandy Seale

A newly discovered speedy visitor from another solar system far, far, away in our galaxy has been confirmed, thanks to the rapid response telescopes of Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO). LCO is a nonprofit corporation based in Goleta, California, dedicated to advancing worldwide understanding of the universe through science with its global network of full robotic optical telescopes. The newfound object is named Comet 3I/ATLAS: “ATLAS” after the astronomical survey that discovered it and “3I” because it is the third such interstellar object to be found.

Learn more about this visitor from beyond

March 26

2:59 PM /

2

Not All Novae Are Super: T Coronae Borealis

By Ila Jade Komasa

In the coming months, a very small constellation in the night sky holds the potential for a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event that you can witness yourself. If you’re out stargazing this spring and summer, look for the constellation Corona Borealis, or the Northern Crown. (You’ll find it near Draco and Boötes.) Astronomers predict that sometime soon, an obscure star in this constellation will suddenly go from being invisible to the naked eye to shining as brightly as Polaris!

Uncover the science behind the stars

November 14

1:00 PM /

2

Largo’s Long Career: For the Good of Gopher Snakes

By Tessa Cafritz

Some people look at animals in zoos and aquariums and wonder if they need to be there instead of in their natural environments. I can understand that, and as a science educator at the Sea Center, I talk to people with these inquiries every day. It motivates me to illuminate the important roles that animals in human care at educational and research institutions can play.

Read about Largo the snake and his enrichment