Public Resources
Many UC Santa Cruz facilities and programs are open to the public for research, intellectual and cultural enrichment, recreation, and enjoyment. The following listing provides a brief description of each, along with phone numbers for further information.
Arboretum
Located on Empire Grade one-half mile west of the main entrance to the campus, the Arboretum has extensive collections of plants from the South Pacific and South Africa, other exotic flora, a rock garden, and a eucalyptus grove.
Call (831) 427-2998 for more information; 423-4977 for the gift shop; or go to the Arboretum web site
Art galleries
There are two major art galleries on campus: the Sesnon Art Gallery at Porter College and the Smith Gallery at Cowell College. Open throughout the academic year, both schedule exhibitions of work by contemporary artists and important collections of historic interest. In addition, the work of faculty, students, staff, and guest artists is displayed in these galleries and a number of other spaces around the campus, including several smaller galleries at Porter College, the McHenry and Science & Engineering Libraries, the Women's Center, the University Center, and college libraries and coffeehouses.
For information about current exhibitions and gallery hours, call (831) 459-3606 (Sesnon); 459-2953 (Smith).
Farm & Garden
The 25-acre organic Farm, where the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems does much of its work, is located on the hilly slopes to the west of the main entrance road. Fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, herbs, berries, and other research crops are used to study nonchemical, organic methods of sustainable agriculture. Similar work is done at the two-acre Alan Chadwick Garden just below Merrill College. Produce from the Farm is marketed in late spring through early fall. Both facilities are open year-round. Open houses and public talks on techniques for growing plants and trees are also offered.
For general information, call (831) 459-4140; for group tours, call 459-3240.
Friends groups
Thirteen campus friends groups and related organizations welcome community members interested in supporting various campus programs and activities. These are the UCSC Affiliates, UCSC Arboretum Associates, Friends of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District, Friends of the Dickens Project, Friends of the Lionel Cantu GLBTI Resource Center at UCSC, Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden, Friends of the UCSC Library, Friends of Long Marine Laboratory, Friends of Shakespeare Santa Cruz and Shakespeare Santa Cruz Board of Directors, Friends of the Page and Eloise Smith Scholastic Society, UCSC Lifelong Learners, UCSC Opera Circle, and the UCSC Women's Club.
For information about memberships, go to http://ucsc.edu/alumni_friends/volunteer.asp.
Performances and lectures
Theater, art, music, and dance programs are offered to the public throughout the school year by the colleges and Arts & Lectures. Films and public talks by faculty and a variety of entertainers and speakers. In the summer, the campus is home to the Dickens Universe and Shakespeare Santa Cruz, which also stages a family-oriented holiday show and sponsors Shakesepeare To Go, which brings Shakespeare to local schools.
Call (831) 459-ARTS (during the academic year) for information on events in the Theater Arts and Music Centers and a quarterly calendar of events. Call 459-2159 for the Ticket Office. Tickets for most events may also be purchased by e-mail at tickets@ucsc.edu (tickets subject to service charges). The UCSC events calendar is also available on the web.
Tickets to many on-campus and community events are available through SantaCruzTickets.com (tickets subject to service charges).
Lick Observatory
A facility of UC Observatories, Lick Observatory is atop Mount Hamilton 19 miles east of San Jose. The observatory, open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, offers the public a view of the 120-inch Shane Telescope. The visitors' center in the main building, which was built in 1888, is open from 12:30 to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Free guided tours of the historic 36-inch Lick refractor are offered during the visitors' center open hours.
For information about Lick activities, call (408) 274-5061 or visit the Lick web site.
Seymour Marine Discovery Center at Long Marine Laboratory
The 43-acre Long Marine Laboratory site--at the western end of Delaware Avenue in Santa Cruz--is located on Younger Lagoon at the edge of the Pacific three miles from campus. Learn about marine life in Monterey Bay and the Pacific through aquaria and other exhibits, including the skeleton of an 85-foot blue whale. Tours offer glimpses of research projects involving bottle-nosed dolphins, California sea lions, elephant seals, and harbor seals.
For more information, call (831) 459-3800 or visit the Seymour Center web site.
Women's Center
Located in historic Cardiff House, the UCSC Women's Center is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to community and campus women, as well as nonprofit and community organizations that serve women. The center sponsors art exhibits, lectures, workshops, films, and discussion groups in addition to providing meeting space and information and referrals.
For information about events, use of the center, or volunteering, call (831) 459-2072 or 459-2291 or visit the Women's Center's web site.
Student-led tours
If you are able to visit the campus, you may wish to take a student-led tour or attend a transfer workshop. The Office of Admissions offers tours on weekdays and selected Saturdays, and reservations are required. Visit our web site at admissions.ucsc.edu/campustours for information and reservations for campus tours and transfer workshops. If you do not have Internet access, please call (831) 459-4008.
Bay Tree Bookstore in Quarry Plaza
The bookstore sells books, apparel, stationery, and Slug merchandise. Adjacent to the Bay Tree Bookstore is Joe's Pizza and Subs, 459-3066, also open to the public during the academic year.
For information, call (831) 459-4544 or visit the Bookstore's web site.
University Center
During the academic year, the University Center restaurant Terra Fresca, at Colleges Nine and Ten, is open to the public for coffee and pastries. For information, call (831) 459-4321 or visit the University Center's web site. For restaurant reservations and To Go orders, call 459-2689.
Conferences
UCSC Conference Services coordinates use of campus facilities by private and public agencies or organizations and by the university itself, which accounts for about 80 percent of summer activity. Each year about 12,000 people participate in conferences, workshops, training camps, and other meetings of an educational nature.
For information on UCSC conference facilities and services, visit the UCSC Conference Services web site or call (831) 459-2611.
UCSC Extension
UCSC Extension creates opportunities for personal and professional growth by combining the academic excellence of the University of California and the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley and the Central Coast. Supported by students' fees, UCSC Extension is the continuing-education branch of the UC Santa Cruz campus. It offers more than 40 professional development programs with over 10,000 enrollments annually in Santa Clara County. Extension's courses cover a wide variety of disciplines and are aimed at career advancement and personal enrichment.
For more information or a free catalog, visit the UCSC Extension web site www.ucsc-extension.edu, our Santa Clara campus, 2505 Augustine Drive, or call (800) 660-8639.
University Library
The McHenry and Science & Engineering Libraries house the impressive collection of UCSC's University Library, which includes approximately 1.5 million books, over 25,000 periodical titles (including online journals), over 800,000 microforms, and more than 400,000 nonprint items, including maps, slides, and audio and video recordings. Most of the library's resources may be used by the public; circulation privileges are available through membership in the Friends of the UCSC Library. During the academic year, the library is open every day except holidays.
Special Collections at McHenry Library contains rare, valuable, and often fragile materials that do not circulate but can be viewed by appointment. Holdings include local history, 20th-century literature, book arts, and the archives of Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, poet Kenneth Patchen, composer Lou Harrison, the Grateful Dead and others.
For library hours, visit the University Library's web site or call (831) 459-4000. For more information, call 459-2711 (McHenry Library), 459-2886 (Science & Engineering Library), or 459-2547 (Special Collections).
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