From time to time, ocean science runs squarely into art, literature, film, and more. From film previews to book signings, these activities are a relaxed and informative way to experience ocean and nature-inspired art and media.
Past activities include spectacular photographic shows, film previews, book signings and talks from authors, mixed media work as well as presentations. Join us for formal presentations or informal meet-and-greets with artists and authors throughout the year.
Fish Physiology:
Can a Fish Drink Too Much?
Sunday, November 11, 2018
1:30-2:30 PM
Garfield T. Kwan, Ph.D. Candidate
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Director, Squidtoons Comics
Drinking too much seawater will cause dehydration—that’s true even if you’re a fish. To remove salt from their system, adult marine fishes use their gills to maintain proper salt levels. However, larval fish are hatched without fully functional gills. Instead, their skin functions as the main salt excretion site—a role that is gradually transferred to the gills as a fish grows up.
Join Garfield Kwan to learn about his fishy research. He will discuss the inspirations behind Squidtoons, which aims to make research more accessible by translating science into comics. Stay for a book signing following the lecture with the author of our newest exhibit, Squidtoons.
Event is included with admission to the Seymour Center and free for members.
Doors open to the lecture hall at 1 PM
Event passes are available at the admissions counter at 12:30 PM
Between Paradise and Peril:
The Natural Disaster History of the Monterey Bay Region
A new book by Gary Griggs
Thursday, November 29, 2018
6-7:30 PM
Presentation, Booksigning, Reception
Join us for a special evening with Gary Griggs.
Between Paradise and Peril: The Natural Disaster History of the Monterey Bay Region chronicles 200 years of earthquakes, tsunamis, coastal storms and shoreline retreat, rainfall and flooding, landslides and mudflows, plus current droughts and climate change. What will the future of paradise hold?
Learn the inspiration behind Gary Griggs’ newest book in his Santa Cruz Sentinel article, Our Ocean Backyard: Natural Disasters in Our Backyard, and read Tim Stephens’ article, Gary Griggs Covers Region’s History of Natural Disasters in New Book.
This event is free to attend. Seating is limited and first-come, first-served.
Become a sponsor for this event. Discover the benefits, here.
“Land of the Jaguars:
Wild Wetlands of South America”
A New Presentation by
Frans Lanting and Chris Eckstrom
Saturday, February 2, 2019
3 PM and 7 PM
Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA
© Frans Lanting / lanting.com
The greatest cat in the Americas—the jaguar—is a symbol for strength, power, and wilderness. Jaguars thrive in the fabled Pantanal of Brazil, but in the Ibera wetlands of Argentina, they’ve been gone for nearly a century. Now one of the most ambitious wildlife projects in the world is working to bring them back—along with a “Noah’s Ark” of South American wildlife that was lost in a tragic era of exploitation and overhunting. Far-sighted conservationists Doug and Kris Tompkins have a vision of restoring this landscape to its primeval grandeur, and miraculously, it’s working.
Join us for a new presentation by renowned photographer Frans Lanting and his partner Chris Eckstrom in celebration of two wilderness areas in South America—Brazil’s Pantanal and Argentina’s Ibera. Frans and Chris recently returned from a month of travel in this unique part of the world with fresh impressions. They will regale us with their images, stories, and videos about the natural and human history of these spectacular wetlands which are home to the “giants” of South America: the giant anteater, giant otter, rhino-like tapirs, colorful macaws—the largest parrots in the world, endearing capybaras—Earth’s largest rodent, and of course, the jaguar—largest cat in the Americas. Frans and Chris will share personal observations and highlight conservation successes here that inspire hope.Proceeds will benefit the marine science education and conservation programs at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center at UCSC’s Long Marine Lab.
Tickets available online: seymourcenter.brownpapertickets.com and at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center in December.
Seymour Center Members $20 / General Admission $25 / Gold Circle $45
Ocean Sponsor:
Jo Lynne and Fred Jones
For more information about the show or how you can become a sponsor, please contact Lauren Donnelly-Crocker at the Seymour Center, 831-459-3800
Below are examples of past events:
Artwork, photography, or exhibit openings
A Perfect Day for an Albatross, Caren Loebel-Fried (illustrated children’s book)- Running the Numbers, Chris Jordan (mixed media, traveling exhibit)
- Tiny Drifters, Laura Beach (educational and graphic presentation of diatoms)
- Sea Otters from Bryant Austin (photography)
- Radiographs from the California Academy of Science
- Peregrine Falcons from Glen Nevill (photography)
- Underwater in Black and White, Art Hazeltine (photography)
- Whimsical Visions of Undersea Life, Ket Tom-Conway (watercolor paintings)
Film screenings, openings, or sneak previews
- Straws, a Film by Linda Booker
- Of the Sea: Fishermen, Seafood, and Sustainability
- Coastal Clash
- A Seal’s Life
- Keiko, Beyond the Headlines
Book signings
- Kim Steinhardt and Gary Griggs, “The Edge: The Pressured Past and Precarious Future of California’s Coast”
- Terrie Williams, “The Hunter’s Breath”
- Gary Griggs, several titles
- Todd Newberry, “The Ardent Birder: On the Craft of Birdwatching”
- Marc Shargell, “Wonders of the Sea”
- Lucy Spellman, “The Rhino with the Glue-on Shoes, and Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets”
Other special events and presentations
- In the Crosshairs: An Update on the Sea Otter Survival Story, Kim Steinhardt
- Frans Lanting and Chris Eckstrom present: Into Africa
- UC Santa Cruz Satellite Reef Crochet Circles
- Frans Lanting and Chris Eckstrom present: Journeys to the Ends of the Earth
- Commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake
Please check our calendar for current offerings.
