In order to keep museum experiences dynamic, engaging, and relevant, CCSPA is proud to sponsor traveling exhibitions at the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History and Spooner Ranch House at Montaña de Oro State Park. These traveling exhibits feature various natural, cultural, and historic topics to expand the interpretive opportunities offered at their respective locations. See below for what’s on display at each site!
Traveling Museum Exhibits
Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History
Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change
March 24 – September 17
Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change features breathtaking photographs that address climate change and its effect on a universal symbol of beauty: the wildflower. The exhibit displays over 52 color photographs of wildflowers representing seven of California’s regions, as well as equipment used by photographers in the field, high- and low-tech interactives, and natural history text panels featuring maps and essays focused on California’s landscape and climate change. The exhibition aims to address how climate change and other human impacts affect California’s wildflowers.
Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change is an exhibition developed by Rob Badger and Nina Winter and traveling through Exhibit Envoy. Exhibit Envoy provides traveling exhibitions and professional services to museums throughout California. For more information, visit www.exhibitenvoy.org.
Spooner Ranch House at Montaña de Oro State Park
World War II on the Central Coast
On Display Indefinitely
This exhibit, developed by State Park staff, examines the impact of World War II on the Central Coast, and especially on the San Luis Obispo Coast District of California State Parks.
World War II was a global event that impacted the Central Coast in myriad ways—from the influx of soldiers who trained at Camp San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay, to the expulsion of residents of Japanese descent from their coastal homes, to the gripping fear of a potential attack on the coast that initiated coastal “black outs.” The exhibition explores this history through panels, audio recordings, and tactile displays that engage visitors in the experience of WWII along the Central Coast, and especially within our local State Parks.
Through examining the events of WWII that took place at our local State Parks, this exhibition endeavors to broaden historical perspectives and bring to light some of the lesser-known stories of this period of local and international turmoil.
Past Exhibits:
Seeds: Nature’s Artful Engineering (October 2022 – February 2023)
Her Side of the Story: Tales of California Pioneer Women (June 2022 – October 2022)
Dog Boats and Rum Runners in State Parks: San Luis Obispo County in the Prohibition Era (November 2021 – June 2022)
Bear in Mind: The Story of the California Grizzly (November 2021 – January 2022)
We Are Not Strangers Here: African American Histories in Rural California (August 2021 – October 2021)
Do you want to contribute to CCSPA’s efforts in funding traveling exhibits and exhibit upgrades? Make a donation to CCSPA today! With your support, these facilities will continue to provide meaningful, memorable educational opportunities for the thousands of visitors who come to them each year.
* Be sure to select “Traveling Exhibits & Exhibit Upgrades” as your program of support in the drop-down menu.