Museum of Natural History
A visit to the Central Coast of California is not complete without a stop at the Museum of Natural History in Morro Bay State Park. The museum offers activities for all ages: nature walks, exhibits, lectures, puppet shows, videos, docent led tours and special events.

Visit the Chumash garden along the side of the museum and learn how the Chumash used native plants of this area in their daily lives.

The Museum of Natural History is within minutes of the Heron Rookery, Morro Bay State Park, Montaña de Oro State Park, the El Moro Elfin Forest and Audubon's Sweet Springs Nature Preserve. The museum overlooks Morro Bay which is both a State and National Estuary.


History
The Museum of Natural History - the only one in the California State Park system -- opened in 1962. It served over 10,000 visitors in its first two years alone, and now some 65,000 thousand people visit the Museum annually, including 14,000 children who participate free-of-charge in the docent-led school group programs that support California's required science and social studies standards.

Construction on the Museum's three-phase Modernization Project began in 1993 with a remodel of the entry, gift shop, and restrooms. In 1997, Phase II -- the rotunda area -- was completed. The Phase III Modernization of the main hall became a reality in 2002, featuring state-of-the-art interactive exhibits especially created for the Morro Bay site. The new exhibits were developed and designed by Exhibit Group Giltspur, a prestigious internationally known design firm that was selected after a nationwide search. Giltspur has also created exhibits for the Smithsonian and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Redesign
The Natural History Museum has undergone a complete redesign of the 1960 circa exhibits and replaced them with new state of the art displays focused on the ecology of the Morro Bay estuary. New exhibits feature interactive displays to educate the visiting public about the ecology of the Morro Bay estuary. Several of the exhibits feature touch screens that provide visitors the opportunity to find out what the forces of nature are doing at that moment in time. Visitors can build a sand dune, operate the hydrologic cycle and dig into the food pit to create their own food chains.

Location - Cost - Hours
The Museum of Natural History is located in Morro Bay State Park and is within minutes of the Heron Rookery, Montaña de Oro State Park, the El Moro Elfin Forest and Audubon's Sweet Springs Nature Preserve. The Museum overlooks Morro Bay which is both a State and National Estuary. Entry fees are $2 for adults and free to children 16 and under. The Museum is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every day of the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.