Santa Barbara Museum Of Natural History

It started 75 years ago as a great place to store eggs. These days the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is known for its many collections, exhibits, educational programs, research and public forums on topics ranging from animals to astronomy, plants to the life of the Chumash Indians. The museum's beginnings date to Jan. 31, 1916, when William Leon Dawson and several prominent Santa Barbarans met to establish the Museum of Comparative Oology for the collection and study of bird eggs.

Moorpark officials may have found a final resting place for the skeleton of a fossilized mammoth that roamed the area up to 1 million years ago. If the City Council approves the plan next week, the skeletal pieces will be donated to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Hugh Riley, assistant city manager, said the museum beat out the larger Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County because of its enthusiasm for creating a public exhibit.

UC Santa Barbara's Arts and Lectures program on Friday will offer $2 discounts on tickets for any remaining events on its 1993-1994 schedule. And procrastinators take note: This is a one-day-only deal. Among the 15 upcoming performers are the Lar Lubovich Dance Company, Actors from the London Stage, The Mighty Clouds of Joy gospel group, Inti-Illimani, Philip Glass, Spalding Gray, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

ON a recent family visit to the remodeled Ty Warner Sea Center in Santa Barbara, 8-year-old J.P. Schaedel had a question for the teenage docent at the warty sea cucumber exhibit. Minutes earlier, J.P. had run his fingers over the knobby-skinned invertebrate and -- like most sea cucumber neophytes -- marveled at the creature's unexpected soft texture. Now J.P. was back, and curious: "If you step on them do they spit out their guts?"

Before Bugs Bunny, Roger Rabbit, Harvey, the Playboy Bunny and maybe even the Easter Bunny (nobody knows when the Easter Bunny showed up--I called the library), there was Peter Rabbit. The work of Beatrix Potter, this wascally wabbit's literary mom, is featured in an exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History called "The World of Peter Rabbit." The exhibition, which includes a re-creation of Mr.

Whales and dolphins will share the spotlight Friday in a three-part presentationat the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. First, Jean-Michel Cousteau will present his new film "The Secret Societies of Dolphins and Whales," in which he visits with dolphins in the Bahamas, finds pilot whale skeletons inside a cave in Fiji, and tracks humpbacks from Hawaii to Alaska.

One consequence of the passage of time is that we lose sight and memory of the cultures of many indigenous people--their customs all but forgotten once they are no longer practiced. Chumash ancestor Antonio Romero Sr. recognizes such dangers and has waged a years-long battle to preserve the heritage of his people.

The reproductive lives of plants and animals are explored in an exhibit at the California Museum of Science and Industry. "Two of Every Sort" runs through Jan. 2. Parts of the exhibit will focus on what it means to be male and female in various species of flora and fauna, courtship, mating and parenting. The exhibit's last section explores human reproduction and prospects for conception made possible by advances in medicine and biotechnology. Call (213) 744-7400.

In 1836, the French frigate Venus sailed on a diplomatic voyage around Cape Horn and north to the West Coast of North America. Along the way, the crew documented the natural history of the region, collecting birds, shells, plants and mammals. An exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, "Animalia Personalities," includes the sometimes whimsical engravings and hand-colored prints of animals observed during that voyage. Call (805) 682-4711.

Kid-scaled and eco-friendly, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History brings children closer to California nature, wildlife and history. On a recent rainy Sunday afternoon, hundreds of parents and children packed the museum's auditorium as David and Anita Jackson of Paso Robles-based Zoo to You Wildlife Education brought out a Bengal tiger, a pair of monkeys and exotic birds and snakes.

NO TROUT FOR ME. NO BASS, NO CATFISH, NO crappie. I stand under cloudy skies on a sleepy weekday, dodging wasps and foraging through the brush at water's edge, chasing something bigger. Something aged, secret and leviathan. Aaron Plunkett is my guide. A 40-year-old musician who lives nearby and visits every week, he stands upslope, hollering directions. Between hollers, he rattles out rhythms on a hand-held percussion instrument made from the ribs of an Irish goat.

Kid-scaled and eco-friendly, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History brings children closer to California nature, wildlife and history. On a recent rainy Sunday afternoon, hundreds of parents and children packed the museum's auditorium as David and Anita Jackson of Paso Robles-based Zoo to You Wildlife Education brought out a Bengal tiger, a pair of monkeys and exotic birds and snakes.

* Stage--Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera will open "Triumph of Love" Friday at the Granada Theatre, 1216 State St., Santa Barbara. A seven-member cast is featured in this musical adaptation of Marivaux's 1732 comedy, which explores the lengths to which people will go in the quest for love. Show times: Wednesday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m. Also: this Wednesday, 3 p.m. $12-$47. 966-2324.

If Chumash descendant Teresa Raitt had been a bit more experienced researcher, or if curator John Johnson had been a bit less inquisitive, perhaps the sketches never would have been found. But thanks to Raitt's overzealous research at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and Johnson's sharp eye, the two of them have unearthed crude sketches of the original floor plan of the historic San Buenaventura Mission--sketches Johnson calls one of a kind.

Before Bugs Bunny, Roger Rabbit, Harvey, the Playboy Bunny and maybe even the Easter Bunny (nobody knows when the Easter Bunny showed up--I called the library), there was Peter Rabbit. The work of Beatrix Potter, this wascally wabbit's literary mom, is featured in an exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History called "The World of Peter Rabbit." The exhibition, which includes a re-creation of Mr.

The chicks are back. After being closed for three years, the chick hatchery, one of the most popular exhibits at the California Museum of Science and Industry, has reopened. The hatchery, which had been a part of the museum's educational exhibits since the 1950s, has been redesigned and relocated to the Science South Building. Visitors will be able to watch as chicks break through their shells and begin their development.

* Stage--Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera will open "Triumph of Love" Friday at the Granada Theatre, 1216 State St., Santa Barbara. A seven-member cast is featured in this musical adaptation of Marivaux's 1732 comedy, which explores the lengths to which people will go in the quest for love. Show times: Wednesday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m. Also: this Wednesday, 3 p.m. $12-$47. 966-2324.

Moorpark officials may have found a final resting place for the skeleton of a fossilized mammoth that roamed the area up to 1 million years ago. If the City Council approves the plan next week, the skeletal pieces will be donated to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Hugh Riley, assistant city manager, said the museum beat out the larger Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County because of its enthusiasm for creating a public exhibit.

Whales and dolphins will share the spotlight Friday in a three-part presentationat the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. First, Jean-Michel Cousteau will present his new film "The Secret Societies of Dolphins and Whales," in which he visits with dolphins in the Bahamas, finds pilot whale skeletons inside a cave in Fiji, and tracks humpbacks from Hawaii to Alaska.

UC Santa Barbara's Arts and Lectures program on Friday will offer $2 discounts on tickets for any remaining events on its 1993-1994 schedule. And procrastinators take note: This is a one-day-only deal. Among the 15 upcoming performers are the Lar Lubovich Dance Company, Actors from the London Stage, The Mighty Clouds of Joy gospel group, Inti-Illimani, Philip Glass, Spalding Gray, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.