SBnature Journal Vol. 9, NO. 1

2023 VOL. 9, NO. 1

SBnature Journal S A N TA B A R B A R A M U S E U M O F N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y

DON’T LET SUMMER FLY BY MYSTERY OF THE FLOWER BEETLES MINERALS COME TO LIFE

DESIGNING SMART FUN

A DEEPENING CONNECTION TO NATURE

SBnature Journal

CONTENTS

4—5

DON’T LET SUMMER FLY BY Special Exhibits

14—15

THREE BY THE SEA Meet the Sea Center’s Latest Staff Catches

6—7

MINERALS COME TO LIFE Exhibits team rocks old hall with new chemistry

16—17

SHARE YOUR SKILLS IN EVERY SEASON Volunteering Opportunities

8—9

DESIGNING SMART FUN Museum Field Trips

18—19

GALACTIC GALA Out-of-this-world Fundraiser

10—11

MYSTERY OF THE FLOWER BEETLES Entomology Research

20—21

A DEEPENING CONNECTION TO NATURE Bob and Kathy Harbaugh

12—13

37 YEARS…AND JUST GETTING STARTED! Anthropologist John R. Johnson

22—23

MUSEUM LIFE

2023 VOL. 9, NO. 1

2559 Puesta del Sol Santa Barbara, CA 93105 805-682-4711 Wed–Mon, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

211 Stearns Wharf Santa Barbara, CA 93101 805-962-2526 Open daily 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

Photo by Stacey J. Byers

A NOTE FROM LUKE President & CEO The Museum and the Sea Center are old friends you will want to visit again and again.

Dear friends,

I

hope you have had a chance to visit the Museum and the Sea Center already this summer. At both campuses we have so much for you to explore—both old favorites

and new surprises.

Our Sea Center on Stearns Wharf always floats, sparkling in the sun, over the channel. Our volunteers and educators are eager to share their knowledge and passion for these ambassadors from the deep. World Oceans Day in June was a particular success: with support from the Coastal Fund at UCSB we were able to open the doors at no cost, and 1,544 visitors enjoyed the Sea Center exhibits. Those visitors also had the opportunity to connect with various partner organizations and learn about community opportunities in environmental stewardship.

This summer in the Sprague Butterfly Pavilion, all of our species are native to Costa Rica, so you will see some dazzling flying jewels that have never before visited us. Our indoor galleries always provide cool and restorative spaces to acquaint yourself with our regional natural history; you will always discover something new with every visit to these cherished halls.

And you won’t want to miss our newest exhibit in our Courtyard Gallery—the whimsical works of graphic artists Charley and Edie Harper will be sure to delight you.

Both the Museum and the Sea Center are old friends you will want to visit again and again. Thank you for keeping us close.

Sincerely,

Luke J. Swetland President & CEO

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DON’T LET SUMMER FLY BY

I

t would be a shame to miss our summer exhibits. The art of nature—on paper and on the wing—is currently on view in abundance at the Museum. The Sprague Butterfly Pavilion looks more beautiful than ever, with a jungle of foliage providing roosting and nectaring space for about 1,000 butterflies. The variety of species coming from our butterfly farmer in Costa Rica is astonishing.

Their diversity is on display both in the pavilion and in Santa Barbara Gallery, where guests can watch the adult butterflies emerge from their chrysalides.

For the families who flock to butterflies this summer, there’s an extra treat in the Courtyard Gallery just off the Museum’s entrance. Curious by Nature: Works of Charley and Edie Harper (organized by Springfield Museum of Art and Fowler Artistic LLC) boasts a parade of striking wildlife in the form of a whopping 86 serigraphs. The Harpers favored this medium (also known as screen printing) to reproduce their bright, geometric paintings, since it’s ideal for bold, flat images, like Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroes.

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Bold and flat these images may be, but the Harpers’ work is only deceptively simple. Look closer and you’ll appreciate details of predators and prey, cunning adaptations, and surprising moments of drama even in the most everyday subjects.

It’s approachable art that people want to take home and live with.

Passenger Pigeon, Charley Harper, serigraph, 1957

Cool Carnivore, Charley Harper, serigraph, 1979

In his later years, he tackled urban sprawl and other threats to the environment, and his final completed piece was a comment on climate change.

The current exhibit showcases pieces spanning the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the heart of his career.

Portrait of Charley by Edie Harper, 1969

Born on a farm in West Virginia in 1922, Charley Harper was enthralled by the surrounding wildlife, but bored by the art training he received in his home state.

Packed off to the respected Art Academy of Cincinnati, he put down roots in Ohio.

He got his start doing commercial art for big brands in the 1950s, but hit a turning point in 1960 when commissioned to illustrate The Giant Golden Book of Biology. After that, he focused his playful modernist sensibility on wildlife and nature, and never looked back, working right up until his death in 2007.

Harper’s method was to distill an animal’s form into its most basic essence of color and shape. He called it “minimal realism,” and said the term was “an irreverent spoof of the apparent need of critics and art historians to categorize art.” His sense of humor is also evident in the compulsive wordplay of his titles.

Edie Harper’s less-known work is represented in 19 prints.

She and her husband were partners in life and art. ”Our minds work in parallel,” said Charley. Guests of Curious by Nature can consider Edie’s complementary work—and create their own geometric interpretations of animal life— in an area dedicated for kids to create their own art and read.

Curious by Nature (through Sep. 10) and Butterflies Alive! (through Sep. 4) are included with Museum admission; Members are always free.

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MINERALS COME TO LIFE Exhibits team rocks old hall with new chemistry

H

ave you visited our new mineral exhibit?

In addition to oodles of crystals, the room has a new feel and fresh interpretation. The old hall was emptied and closed in preparation for the dazzling summer 2022 exhibit Rare Earth in Fleischmann Auditorium. Setting a high bar for showmanship, Rare Earth centered on stunning specimens on loan from noted mineral collector Rob Lavinsky, Ph.D. After Rare Earth closed, an interdisciplinary team reinvented the Museum’s small-but-mighty permanent exhibit, creating an inviting space that provides abundant and approachable scientific context for the 100 choice specimens handpicked by Dibblee Curator of Earth Science Jonathan Hoffman, Ph.D.

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The team: (L-R back row) Dawson Escamilla, Francisco Lopez, Amy Carpenter, Krista Fahy, Jonathan Hoffman. (Front row) Jenna Savage Davis, Owen Duncan, Jenna Hamilton-Rolle, Jimmy Friery

While providing information about minerals’ relevance to daily life and regional identity, the new interpretation still keeps science—especially chemistry—at the center.

Dr. Hoffman collaborated with other geologists on staff to situate the study of minerals in space and deep time, instilling a greater appreciation not only for minerals, but for the dynamic natural forces that generate them. Taking a cue from the mineral evolution approach pioneered by Robert Hazen, Ph.D., and other prominent mineralogists, the exhibit leads with the

startling fact that the solar system began with only 60 minerals, whereas over 6,000 are known on Earth today.

Exhibits Designer Jenna Savage Davis, M.F.A., designed the look and feel to avoid the glass-case-in-astore feeling of other mineral exhibits. Organic forms and panoramas mask the cases, evoking the fact that minerals come from our planet’s landscapes, not jewelry stores. Highly adjustable LED lighting makes another major improvement over the old hall.

Benitoite, California’s official state gemstone!

Top: The Environment Makers repainting the Dreier Mine Above: Museum Educator Lauri Dahlin engages schoolchildren in conversation about the hall’s highlights. Circle: Flourite from Namibia

The team kept guest favorites—memorable specimens, the interactive fluorescent minerals, and the Dreier Mine—enhancing them to suit the new look.

Longtime local Museum collaborators provided key skills: The Environment Makers embellished key parts of the space with naturalistic rock textures and colors, and S.B. Forge handwrought iron mounts for select specimens.

The lion’s share of skilled craftsmanship was performed

by Exhibits Tech Jimmy Friery and Exhibits Lead Francisco Lopez, who did everything from handcrafting custom specimen supports to hooking up the neon “California” sign highlighting our state’s geomorphic provinces. This exhibit was Lopez’s swan song as a full-timer at the Museum.

After more than a decade as the team’s hands-on problem solver, he’s relocating with family to Utah.

Tourmaline in pegmatite from Mesa Grande, California

“It’s been a great 10 years and 10 months, and I’m glad for this to be my last hurrah,” says Lopez.

“To redo an entire hall with fresh ideas, that’s a challenge. The reward is when you get to open the exhibit and see the families enjoying what you created.

It’s worth all the long hours and hard work.”

“It’s a privilege to work with so many talented people who can pull it together,” says Amy Carpenter, who leads the Exhibits Department.

Hoffman elaborates: “From room layout to graphics to narrative to fabrication, every member of the team generated great ideas and skillfully implemented them.”

This hall’s transformation was made possible by generous philanthropic support.

DESIGNING SMART FUN Museum Field Trips

W

hat makes our school programs so successful?

Our natural setting, loyal volunteer educators, exhibits, enthusiastic visiting teachers? Yes. But there’s another powerful force behind the expertly channeled excitement of a field trip. It’s the School & Community Programs staff at the Museum: Senior Manager Charlotte Zeamer, Ph.D., and Specialist Jessica Prichard.

For the last four years, Dr. Zeamer and Prichard have worked together to preserve our reputation for great field trips, and to keep our programs evolving. They agree that a field trip is the best day of a kid’s year: “Why would you not want to be part of that?” asks Prichard.

Both came on the job in August 2019. Prichard arrived in Santa Barbara after six years of experience at the Getty. Zeamer— whose background is in psychology and education—returned to Santa Barbara from the Bay Area, where she taught at Santa Clara University and worked at NASA’s Ames Research Center. “In Santa Barbara, Students roar with Stegosaurus, admire fluorescent minerals with Prichard, and share a laugh with Zeamer at break time.

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With the Friday crew: (L-R back row) Educators Farshad, Amihan, C.C., Claire, Gary, and Prichard. (Front row) Zeamer, Educators Glenn, C.J., and Patrick.

Students get to grips with how our region’s first people relied on local natural resources.

I was raising my daughter, and suddenly I had a little time,” she recalls. “I started here in the planetarium. I loved being back in space.” The chance to run school programs lured her out of the dark.

around small groups, creating opportunities for genuine connection between educators and students. The personalized approach makes science fun and memorable for everyone involved.

“This job has a lot of the elements I’ve always found precious,” including the excitement of learning with kids, mentoring educators, and creating memorable experiences with science.

“We encourage conversations about the things that excite kids,” explains Zeamer.

“A lot of the training we do for the educators is about science, but also, how to recognize the strengths of different ages. What does a kindergartener do really well?

How do we nurture that, rather than paddling against the current?” Her background informs this approach. “Being aware of that cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal stuff helps us be successful with the science.”

Zeamer and Prichard both delight in how museum learning creates an atmosphere of constant reflection and challenge.

“Informal education is powerful,” says Prichard.

“Museums bring out the best in people.

In museums, we can have so many different conversations. Kids have imagination, and they’re not scared to say what they think.” The two restructured our school programs to revolve

After every tour, the educators reflect and swap tips, building a toolkit of different approaches for varied circumstances.

Flexibility helps educators respond in the moment, says Prichard, and it’s built into the curriculum: “We bring a lot of open-ended questions.

Things that make students think critically and connect with their lives outside the lesson.” It all contributes to recognizing science as a practice based on inquiry, experimentation, and testing assumptions.When students arrive, they’re encouraged to “put on their science hat” and try this way of looking at the world.

The team is rewarded by a constant stream of thankyou notes, illustrating what students and teachers took away. Prichard’s all-time favorite is one from a secondgrade student who proudly proclaims: “I still have the science hat on.”

Learn more at sbnature.org/fieldtrip 9

MYSTERY OF THE FLOWER BEETLES

Dr. Gimmel in the Mojave Desert near Lancaster, CA. Photo by Lucie Gimmel

I

n late summer’s heat, wildlife can be hard to spot.

Yet while passing through an arid landscape, you may observe Schlinger Chair and Curator of Entomology Matthew L. Gimmel, Ph.D., and his wife, Scientific Imaging Specialist Lucie Gimmel. Matt beats bushes and collects falling beetles in a pan; Lucie—whose background is in botany—documents the plants. The Gimmels are after flower beetles in the subfamily Dasytinae (daz-ee-TEEN-ee).

This symbiotically scientific couple do much of their fieldwork in July and August, when particular adult dasytines (DAZ-ee-tines) are active.

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Studied over a century ago in a piecemeal fashion, the dasytines have been neglected—until now.

Despite the adult beetles’ great abundance, scientists don’t know much about dasytines’ early lives.

The appearance and whereabouts of their larvae are generally unknown.

Dr. Gimmel and collaborators are trying to make sense of this diverse group of small, subtle insects. With Adriean Mayor, Ph.D., of University of Tennessee, Gimmel plans to sort out who’s who and pave the way for further study.

The coauthors are loading up their publications with details gleaned from research and collecting, including data about plants.

“That’s a special twist that we enjoy adding to this work,” says Gimmel, who has benefited from plant associations recorded by others. Dasytines are often found on shrubby perennials like California Buckwheat.

“The annuals they are attracted to tend to be ones they can hide in,” Gimmel explains: late-blooming plants with flowers that provide tiny beetles with a safe, moistureconserving cubicle.

In a recent publication, Gimmel and Mayor sorted out a tangle of related dasytines. They transferred two beetles into a new genus, determined that seven previously-named species are actually a single one, restored the status of a species named in 1895, and described two new species. The third in a series, this paper was just a step in an expansive program of dasytine publications they have long planned.

“This paper is coming full circle,” says Gimmel. Soon after he came to Santa Barbara in 2015, he and Mayor collected a flower beetle with unusually long black hairs. At that time, the two were just getting drawn into dasytine mysteries. The specimens that started off Gimmel’s collecting career in California are now finally described as Microasydates santabarbara.

Late-summer collecting is key to the process of bringing order to chaos. When it comes to insects, fresh specimens are better for dissection to spot the physical distinctions between species. Experts like Gimmel and Mayor are attuned to differences in the shapes and configuration of wing covers, reproductive organs, and setae (SEE-tee, insect fur). Their obsession is growing our collections, as

Scanning electron microscopy by Lucie Gimmel reveals details of a tibia, claw, and eye.

thousands of these beetles are painstakingly mounted, labeled, and made digitally searchable. It’s fitting that Dasytinae should be an area of strength here; California is a dasytine hotspot, home to about 200 of roughly 300 species known in North America.

Further reading: Gimmel and Mayor, “Revision of Microasydates, New Nearctic Genus of Soft-Winged Flower Beetles” in The Coleopterists Bulletin 76(4), December 2022.

A drawer full of dasytines and larger insects.

Photo by Matt Gimmel

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37 YEARS…AND JUST GETTING STARTED!

O

n Museum staff since 1986, Curator of Anthropology John R. Johnson, Ph.D., is adding “Emeritus” to his title. Now that he’s retired, he hopes to finally get something done. This attitude will surprise anyone familiar with Dr. Johnson’s extensive legacy of fieldwork, research, and education, but it’s no shock to his fellow curators.

They know that opportunities to concentrate on one’s own research are rare. Johnson has many papers—and perhaps a book or two—left to write, edit, and publish.

He has worked in all four subfields of anthropology. An early interest in archaeology led him to linguistics, culture, and genetics. In his experience, all these facets have something to offer.

Top: Johnson at Pleito Cave rock art site in 2002. Photo by Rick Bury Middle: Ygnacio-DeSoto and Johnson in 2009. Photo by Paul Wellman Bottom: Johnson conducting mission register research at the Old Mission Santa Barbara Archive-Library in 1994. Photo by Bill Dewey

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He worked with the interdisciplinary team studying the archaeological site at Arlington Springs to confirm human presence on the Channel Islands 13,000 years ago. Reconstructing genealogies through historic records, he found people with unbroken maternal Chumash lineages, willing to participate in early studies of mitochondrial DNA. His work across disciplines has helped establish scientific evidence supporting what Chumash people have long said: that their ancestors occupied this region for thousands of years.

By that millennia-long measure, Johnson is a newcomer to Santa Barbara, but he has not been just a tourist. Born in Long Beach, he fell in love with Santa Barbara as an undergraduate and quickly transferred from Occidental College to UCSB. Working for Los Padres National Forest in the late 1970s, Johnson surveyed routes of proposed fuelbreaks in the backcountry, to help the Forest Service avoid disturbing archaeological sites. “I started wondering, who were the people who lived in these places? That got me interested in finding out the names of the villages,” he recalls.

This interest led him to the notes of anthropologist J.P. Harrington, and to the historic records of Chumash people

at the missions. Painstakingly collating records of baptism, marriage, birth, and death, Johnson found historic evidence illuminating social customs, village networks, family trees, and colonial struggle. At the Old Mission Archive-Library, he met a young Ernestine YgnacioDeSoto (now a Chumash elder), whose mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother all worked with Harrington to record aspects of Chumash culture.

Collaborations with Native American lifelong friends like Ygnacio-DeSoto have been the pride and joy of Johnson’s career.

Another source of deep satisfaction is the ongoing discovery of evidence. “I’ve delved and studied these old records for more than

With other Museum staff at Arlington Springs in 2004

forty years, and I’m still learning new things,” says Johnson. “All those people who lived back in mission times, they aren’t just names to me. They come alive.

The world they lived in wasn’t black and white. It was rich and nuanced, and they had agency.”

Johnson recently published research about Saticoy, a vital Chumash enclave in mid-1800s Ventura, led by a female chief named Pomposa.

Johnson is excited to give “a fuller picture of that community, and help connect descendants with their cultural heritage. This kind of research never gets tiring.”

We will follow Johnson’s future career with great interest.

Further reading: Johnson, “The Chumash Community at Saticoy” in Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 43(1), 2023.

In the field at a cache cave site in 1985. Photo by Paul Saffo

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THREE BY THE SEA Meet the Sea Center’s Latest Staff Catches

My job: Helping out wherever I can to keep the Sea Center running as smoothly as possible.

ROY QI

Sea Center Manager

Hobby: Fishing. Some of

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the highlights of the last few years have been my annual eight-day fall trips out of San Diego. We target a variety of fish, including Yellowfin Tuna, Yellowtail, and Wahoo.

Favorite marine organism:

Rockfish. They’re super-diverse, we have a lot of them locally, and I’ve spent a lot of time both catching and studying them.

Hidden talent: Using fishing gear

to retrieve binoculars that kids have dropped off the wharf.

Marine mentor: Merit McCrea,

because of his contribution to the intersection between fishing and fisheries science. He owned and operated a fishing charter boat for two decades, then went back to school to study aquatic biology.

I appreciate his intimate connection to the fishing community while understanding the science, too.

Grateful for: Everyone’s willingness to help out at the Sea Center, especially as I’ve learned my way around.

Favorite marine organism: The Grunt

Sculpin! They’ve evolved to resemble the Giant Acorn Barnacle and live and hide among them.

They grunt and are very feisty, which I adore.

Hobby: Hiking and identifying organisms that

Marine role model: Rachel Carson, who started out in marine science.

Grateful for: Our sense of community at the

Sea Center, which makes it a fun, upbeat place to work—even on our busiest days.

My job: Empowering our

volunteers and naturalists to create positive experiences between guests and the Santa Barbara Channel.

My job: Fostering community

Essential skill: Perspective

among volunteers. Making sure they feel heard, appreciated, and get a valuable experience.

on how guests engage with us.

My experiences as an educator, in other aquariums and the classroom, come into play every day.

Essential skills: Patience, passion, and motivation. While I have a background in marine biology and put a lot of it to use here, it’s mostly people skills going into this job.

Favorite marine organism:

The Harbor Seal. Something about those big eyes and big round body gets me every time!

Volunteer Coordinator

DYLAN OTTE

TESSA CAFRITZ

Naturalist and Volunteer Program Manager

spark my curiosity. One of the wonderful things about working here is that this kind of ID is an everyday activity out on the Wet Deck.

Favorite part of the job:

Extra-curricular activities with volunteers like beach cleanups, tide pooling, and visiting the Channel Islands.

Grateful for: At the Sea Center,

we’re all pretty goofy in our own ways and like to have fun.

Biggest wish: That my passion for the

environment rubs off on our volunteers who will continue to spread it. Everything I learned about in school, I’m using here, to teach more people about what I love.

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SHARE YOUR SKILLS IN EVERY SEASON

I’m a lifelong student of nature

Immerse yourself in our STEM teaching and join our dedicated corps of Museum educators.

You’ll find deep community guiding school programs for students in grades K–12.

Explore the possibilities at 16

I want to be beside the sea!

Make the Sea Center part of every week.

It’s a wonderful way to enjoy our coastal treasures and share your passion for protecting them. Sea Center volunteers start by interpreting our exhibits, but with additional training you can branch out into more specialized roles, including animal care.

I can’t wait to grow up to make a difference

You don’t have to. At the Sea Center, people as young as 11 years old can start volunteering alongside a parent or guardian. Teens 13 and up have a variety of opportunities at both campuses, from summer volunteering to a multi-year internship leading to part-time paid work.

Some Teen Programs are competitive; study up to prepare for spring applications at sbnature.org/teens.

I’m looking for something special in summer…

You’ll find it in our Butterfly Pavilion!

Commit to a weekly 3-hour shift for the summer, make 1,000 flying new friends.

sbnature.org/volunteer 17

The space themed-décor wowed the audience.

T

he Museum’s 23rd Annual Mission Creek Gala took place Saturday, April 15. Attended by 203 guests, it began with a lovely outdoor reception around the Palmer Observatory that included the opportunity to use the Marschak Telescope, visit with Astronomy Programs Specialist Krissie Cook, sample astronaut ice cream, and enjoy the Tang-based signature cocktail Buzzed Aldrin.

Guests made their way into Fleischmann Auditorium for the big décor reveal and dinner. The auditorium was transformed to look like guests were in space, with a giant LED screen on the stage displaying images from the James Webb Space Telescope.

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The décor was designed by Joy Full Events, Inc. and Hogue & Co. There were five speciallythemed tables that represented elements of the cosmos. The Milky Way Galaxy tableau, the Io Moon tableau, the Diamond Planet tableau, the Supernova tableau, and the Halley’s Comet tableau were each generously sponsored and uniquely designed to reflect the theme.

Duo events provided the delicious dinner and 13 Napa Valley wineries donated the wine for the evening.

Each course started with a lesson from Cook about the James Webb Space Telescope image being displayed. Guests zoomed to five destinations throughout the evening.

Left: Museum President & CEO Luke Swetland with Diamond Planet tableau sponsors Ginni Dreier and son Douglas Circle: Isabella Figueroa was the star of the show, sharing her personal story.

After dinner, planetarium show presenter and Quasars to Sea Stars teen program participant Isabella Figueroa spoke passionately about why the Museum is so important.

Museum President & CEO Luke J. Swetland made an appeal to the crowd and quickly raised $208,000.

The sold-out event was a huge success for the Museum, raising $575,000 in total. The night ended with guests going back out to the observatory to enjoy night sky telescope viewing and a late-night bite. The Gala Honorary Committee consisted of Stacey Byers, Sheri Eckmann, Venesa Faciane, Elisabeth Fowler, Heather Hambleton, Ken Kelly, Barbara Evans Kinnear, Karen Nicholson, and Susan Parker.

Middle: Lorraine and Keith Reichel and their guests in the Supernova tableau Bottom: Elisa and Ken Kelly and their guests enjoying cocktails by the observatory Photos by Baron Spafford

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A DEEPENING CONNECTION TO NATURE

F Top: Educator Kathy assisting a Backyard school program in May Circle: Bob and Kathy Harbaugh

or Bob Harbaugh, M.D., love of the natural world runs in the family. His dad was an earth sciences professor and both his grandfather and brother were geologists. For Bob and his wife Kathy Harbaugh, M.S., their passion for the natural world started at a young age.

Kathy remembers visiting her grandmother’s family home in Minnesota and enjoying the outdoors with her natureloving parents.

For nearly four decades, the Museum and surrounding community has benefited from their deep connections to nature.

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Kathy became a Museum docent in 1983 soon after the couple moved to Santa Barbara. As a science teacher with a background in marine biology, Kathy recognizes the importance of education and providing hands-on science to students. “I love to engage children in nature,” she says.

After almost 25 years as a docent, Kathy’s knowledge of the Museum was immense, and when asked to join the Museum staff in 2007 to manage the School & Teacher Services Department, she jumped at the chance. Kathy wrote one of the key manuals that is still used

by Museum educators today.

She formally retired in 2015, only to become a volunteer educator again.

Bob’s volunteer experience began by organizing multiday, informal field trips for the Museum community to such destinations as Death Valley, Mojave Preserve, and Joshua Tree. He now volunteers with Dibblee Curator of Earth Science Jonathan Hoffman, Ph.D. “Bob’s knowledge of geology and willingness to volunteer came at a critical time,” notes Dr. Hoffman. “Prior to renovating our mineral exhibit, we created a full inventory of the Museum’s mineral collection. Bob’s research work on that project unearthed valuable contextual data that makes our specimens more scientifically significant.”

Docent field trip to Death Valley, 2001. Photo courtesy of Bob Harbaugh

Bob feels strongly that “giving back improves the quality of life in the community. It helps everyone. It is good for you, mentally and physically.” As a highly respected neurologist, Bob can professionally attest that “it’s really important that retirees have a passion and do things that are good for their mind and body, pushing yourself to learn more.” Bob did just that!

As Kathy and Bob’s devotion to the Museum continues through their myriad of volunteer activities, so does their level of support. They recently joined our most philanthropic level of membership—the Leadership Circles of Giving— as well as our Mission Creek Legacy Society, informing us that the Museum is included in their estate plans. Their generosity provides invaluable

support for our educational programming, research, exhibits, and irreplaceable collections.

Bob explains, “After many years of interacting with the Museum, we just thought it was time to provide more than just volunteer assistance. We hope to continue showing our appreciation through raised levels of annual support.”

We are grateful for the rich history of support from individuals like Kathy and Bob, and look forward to working together as we foster a love of the natural world, responsible conservation, and stewardship for generations to come.

Explore ways to support the Museum: sbnature.org/support

Bob volunteering during the installation of the new mineral exhibit. Photo by Andrea McFarling

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MUSEUM LIFE 1

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11 1 S.B. Bubble Guy astonishes guests at Museum Members’ Party.

Photo by Baron Spafford

2 Blue Morpho in the Butterfly Pavilion concealing a bright surprise.

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Photo by Gary Robinson

3 Athena the Barn Owl with S.B. Audubon Eyes in the Sky Volunteer Alex Shu

4 Museum staff at the American Alliance of Museums conference in Denver, CO

5 Connecting with a Swell Shark during Underwater Parks Day at the Sea Center

6 Trustee Tory Milazzo and his wife Kelly and their guests enjoy

Santa Barbara Wine + Food Festival®. Photo by Baron Spafford

7 Sea Center School & Community Programs Specialist Rachel Metz, M.S., delights visiting schoolchildren with a habitat game.

8 Guest Experience Coordinator Jessica Leathers helps release butterflies.

9 Peering through the big telescope during a Star Party at the Palmer Observatory

10 Toothy the Shark with guests at World Oceans Day at the Sea Center 11 A proud Nature Collection participant earns a big prize from Outdoor Education Coordinator Theo Patterson.

12 Exhibits Lead Francisco Lopez and Exhibits Tech Jimmy Friery are the real gems in the new mineral exhibit.

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2559 Puesta del Sol Santa Barbara, CA 93105

SBnature Journal is a publication of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. As a Member benefit, issues provide a look at the Museum’s exhibits, collections, research, and events. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a private, non-profit, charitable organization. Our mission is to inspire a thirst for discovery and a passion for the natural world.

For information about how to support the Museum, contact Director of Development Caroline Baker at 805-682-4711 ext. 109 or cbaker@sbnature2.org.

sbnature.org

@sbmnh

@sbnature

Cover photo: Monarch caterpillars by Gary Robinson

THE ARTIST’S TABLE

ART SHOW

Visit the Museum to enjoy a week-long art show in the Courtyard Gallery curated by Diane Waterhouse.

16 celebrated local artists will be featured and proceeds from art sales support the Museum's work to connect people to nature for the betterment of both, particularly the thousands of schoolchildren we serve every year.

SAT, SEPT 30–SUN, OCT 15

Entry included in paid Museum admission.

Details at sbnature.org/artshow

SAVE THE DATE OPEN THROUGH SEPT 4

Butterflies Alive!

AT THE MUSEUM

OPEN THROUGH SEPT 10

Curious by Nature AT THE MUSEUM

SEPT 30–OCT 15

The Artist’s Table Art Show AT THE MUSEUM

OCTOBER 28

Creep the Halls AT THE MUSEUM

For more information on upcoming events, visit

sbnature.org/calendar.