The Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History is a natural history museum on campus designed to give students and community members all of the resources they need to engage with the natural world. We host classes, have workshops, offer internships, sponsor research projects, and have an array of scientific (binoculars, field guides, hand lenses, insect nets, etc.) and art materials available at the Norris Center. Our greatest resource, however, is our 130,000 specimens of plants, fungi, lichen, insects, and vertebrates focused specifically on Central California. Our specimens are used in numerous scientific research projects, used in in over 30 classes each year, and give thousands of people a closer look at nature. 

 

Specific examples of research projects and internships include: creating an insect field guide of campus; studying how pollinator diversity has changed in Santa Cruz county over the past 30 years; re-surveying UC Natural Reserves to document climate change; documenting populations of endangered Santa Cruz Black Salamanders on campus; creating artistic resources such as signs interpretive materials and outreach materials for the Norris Center. We welcome additional ideas of projects not listed here. 

 

Key words: natural history; natural history museum; collections; specimens; nature; biology; ecology; conservation; animals; plants; insects