Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History facts for kids
Exterior of the museum
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| Established | 1883 |
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| Location | 165 Forest Avenue Pacific Grove, California |
| Type | Natural history museum |
The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History is a cool place to learn about nature! It's a museum that focuses on the natural history of the California Central Coast. You can find it in Pacific Grove, California, not far from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The museum acts like a living field guide, showing off local plants, animals, rocks, and the history of the people who lived here.
This museum first opened its doors way back in 1883. It was one of the first natural history museums in America. Famous naturalists like John Muir helped start a tradition of learning about nature by doing and protecting it. The museum is officially recognized by the American Alliance of Museums.
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Discover the Central Coast: Museum Exhibits
The museum's exhibits are like a field guide to the California Central Coast. You can explore birds, other wildlife, plants, geology, and the rich cultural history of the area. The museum really highlights what makes this part of California special.
When you visit, you'll meet "Sandy," a giant sculpture of an adult female gray whale. Artist Larry Foster created her. The community helped raise money to buy Sandy in 1982. She is dedicated to all the children of Monterey County.
The museum has over 400 bird specimens from Monterey County, California. You can see local birds like the amazing California condor. There are also many other important bird specimens.
Monarch Butterflies: Life Cycle and Migration
Pacific Grove is the biggest public spot in Monterey County where monarch butterflies spend the winter. From Thanksgiving until Valentine's Day, thousands of monarchs gather and fly around the Monarch Grove Sanctuary in Pacific Grove. The museum has an exhibit that teaches you all about the monarch's migration and their life cycle. Volunteers from the museum also help visitors at the sanctuary. They provide viewing scopes and share interesting facts about the butterflies.
The museum's backyard is like a living classroom! It has over 100 different plant species that are native to Monterey County. These plants are grouped into five natural areas, like coastal scrub and oak woodlands. There are also special plants for butterflies and plants used by local Native Americans.
Exciting Events at the Museum
The museum holds its Annual Wildflower Show every year in April. This show displays more than 700 types of wildflowers from Monterey County. It's the largest wildflower show in the Northern and Western Hemispheres! The museum started this show in 1962 with the California Native Plant Society.
In May, the museum hosts the annual Illustrating Nature exhibition. This show features amazing artwork from students graduating from CSUMB's Science Illustration Program.
Learning and Education Programs
The museum offers science and cultural education for the California Central Coast. It helps students and families in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Stanislaus counties. Here are some of their educational programs:
- Science Saturdays are free, hands-on activities for culture, science, and art. They happen on the last Saturday of each month, except June, July, and December. Each month has a different theme.
- Class Field Trips are free for school groups. They are given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Museum field trips are great for learning and fun! All lessons follow the Next Generation Science Standards for PreK-5th grade.
- Monarch Grove Sanctuary Class Field Trips are also free for PreK-5th grade classes. Museum volunteers lead these trips during the monarch overwintering season.
- Class Outreach Programs are free for schools that can't visit the museum. A museum educator will come to your school. They deliver a program to one or more PreK-5th grade classes. The program is made to fit the teacher's needs and teaches topics from the Next Generation Science Standards. Topics include gems, minerals, Native Americans, life cycles, and mammals.
Community Science: Be a Scientist!
The museum has many community science programs. These programs let regular people help scientists with real research!
- LiMPETS (Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students) helps teachers and students monitor the coast. You can do real field research and help protect the ocean.
- Western Monarch Count works with the Xerces Society. The museum tracks the population of the threatened Western Monarch Butterfly. They also track monarchs weekly at the Monarch Sanctuary. This program runs from October to March.
- Black Oystercatcher Monitoring partners with the California Coastal National Monument. This program tracks the success of the Black oystercatcher, a local shorebird. This bird is an indicator species. Studying it helps scientists understand the health of the whole rocky shore ecosystem.
- MPA Watch (Marine Protected Area) works with WILDCOAST. This program monitors how people use the protected ocean areas around the Monterey Peninsula.
- Watershed Guardians is for middle, high, and college students. They study the health of local rivers in Monterey County, like the Carmel River. They collect and record real-time water quality data.
Museum History
The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle started its Pacific Coast branch in Pacific Grove in 1879. They held a two-week event every summer with lessons, exhibits, and lectures. Over time, members wanted a place to store and show the natural items they collected. In 1883, a small wooden building became the first home for the Chautauqua Museum. It was located in what is now Jewell Park.
Since Chautauqua was like a college, its teachers and students collected many specimens. They brought them to the museum to be shown. The first collections were of shells, sea mosses, and plants. As Pacific Grove grew, the collections grew too. The museum eventually needed its own management. In 1899, Miss Mary E. B. Norton helped organize the museum.
In 1900, the Chautauqua group gave the museum building and its 2100 specimens to a new organization. This group became the Pacific Grove Museum Association in November 1900. They worked to grow the museum and held winter lectures and spring exhibitions. A newspaper in 1901 said the exhibition was a great success!
In 1902, the Pacific Improvement Company gave the museum the land where it stands today. They also gave the buildings that were already there. These buildings were made into one larger building. The original octagonal building was moved across the street to join it. The museum now had lots of space for studying, working, and storing items. They also had outdoor space for native plants.
By 1904, the museum started getting animal specimens. But the museum was poor during this time. It got by on small membership fees and a few donations. Many specimens were even sold to San Francisco after the big 1906 earthquake. Finally, in 1917, the City of Pacific Grove took over supporting the museum.
A very important donation came from Mrs. Lucy Chase, a Pacific Grove citizen. She gave most of the money needed for a new museum building. This new building was built in 1932 on its current site. It opened to the public on December 21, 1932, which was Mrs. Chase's ninetieth birthday!
In 1933, some items that were not natural history were removed. The museum wanted to focus only on natural history. In 1935, the American Association of Museums called it the "best of its size in the United States." The Pacific Grove Museum Association became the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Association in 1967. It is now also connected with the Point Pinos Lighthouse and the Monarch Grove Sanctuary.
