Natural History Museum offers free virtual events
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper will take participants below the surface for a look at local marine parks today during “Lunch and Learn: Dive Into Local Underwater Parks With Channelkeeper.” It’s one of the online programs being offered today by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is celebrating Underwater Parks Day today by offering four free and fun online programs about Marine Protected Areas.
“Pledge to the Coast: Protect Local MPAs” will kick off the activities from 10 to 11 a.m. in partnership with the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation. During the webinar, local experts in marine conservation will discuss the importance of the organisms that rely on protected habitats along the coast.
Participants can earn an Underwater Parks Day reusable canvas bag with supplies for a beach cleanup to complete their pledge to the coast.
Bags will be available for pickup by the first 100 registrants at the Sea Center through Jan. 31.
Pickup details will be emailed after registration.
“Art Meets Science for Kids: Garibaldi Gardening” will be offered from 11:30 a.m. to noon. Featured will be the Garibaldi — a flashy, charismatic ocean fish.
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper will take participants below the surface for a virtual look at three local marine parks from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. during “Lunch and Learn: Dive Into Local Underwater Parks With Channelkeeper.”
Attendees can order takeout or delivery lunch from Rincon Brewery with locations in Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Ventura. It is recognized by the Surfrider Foundation as a Platinum Level Ocean Friendly Restaurant, which means it meets all of the criteria used by the Ocean Friendly Restaurant Program to reduce waste and serve sustainable seafood.
The last event will be a “Virtual Animal Encounter and Tour of the Sea Center” from 2 to 2:45 p.m. It will feature a virtual tour of the museum’s Sea Center at Stearns Wharf.
To attend any or all of the free events, attendees need only one Zoom Link, which allows them to hop on and off from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Also scheduled today is “Art Meets Science: Charcoal and Watercolor Seahorses,” a Zoom workshop for adults, meeting from 3 to 4:15 p.m.
It will be led by Sam Macks Franz — a marine scientist, Sea Center volunteer and interpretation manager, assisted by artist Hilary George.
Tickets for the workshop are $25 for museum members and $35 for nonmembers.
email: mmcmahon@newspress.com
FYI
For more information about all of today’s Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s events, contact Stefanie Coleman at 805-682-4711, ext. 170, or scoleman@sbnature2.org. You can also visit sbnature.org.
