First SundaysFirst Sundays are back on the front steps of our main museum in Downtown Riverside October 2022 through May 2023! All First Sunday events are from 1-4 p.m. and free of charge.May 7 - Captain Carl and His Mobile Tidepool Join the Museum for the return of Captain Carl and his amazing sea creatures! Adults and children alike can hold a starfish, squeeze a sea squirt, and touch an urchin as we bring a bit of the shore to Riverside. Learn how you can reduce your use of plastics and make a sustainability pledge to help keep our oceans clean! |
Attend fascinating discussions with people from our local community.
No previous expertise necessary!
First Fridays of the month | 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. FREE!
Located at the Main Library Community Room, 3900 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside.
Friday, May 5, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
H. Vincent Moses, Ph.D., Vincate & Associates History
Consultants
“Jekel, Spurgeon, Wilson: Riverside's Architects of the
Spanish Colonial Revival, 1914-1940”
By 1930, the Spanish Colonial Revival (SCR) dominated the
architecture of Southern California. Moses's presentation
will examine the primary works of Riverside's three best
known architects of the SCR 1903-1940 and place them within
the context of SCR in Southern California. Click
here to reserve your free seat.
Friday, June 2, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Bree Putnam, Ph.D., Department of Biology, Cal State San
Bernardino; Natural History Museum of L.A. County
“Does Fear Filter Lizards from Urban Areas?”
Urbanization is growing worldwide, displacing native
wildlife. Yet, some animals do well in urban areas (think of
pigeons!). But why are some animals better than others at
responding to such habitat changes? Dr. Putman will present
her research that looks at whether our native lizard species
differ in their fear responses toward humans, which may be
associated with their survival and success in urban
environments. Click
here to reserve your free seat.
Friday, July 7, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Mairin Balisi, Ph.D., Augustyn Family Curator at the Raymond
M. Alf Museum of Paleontology
“California Carnivores Through the Ages”
Non-native donkeys introduced into the Mojave Desert have
become prey for a growing population of mountain lions, but
this is only the current stage of a long and complex history
of mammalian predators and prey in California, from dire
wolves to sabertooth cats.
Friday, August 4, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Douglas J. Long, Ph.D., Curator of Natural History, Museum
of Riverside
“Riverside's Deadly Elephant Rampage: The Full Story”
A traveling circus and an oil depot explosion set off one of
the strangest days in Riverside's history. This talk will
explain the events of that day in 1908 and unravel the
fascinating back-stories of the characters involved,
including the elephants. Click
here to reserve your free seat.
Friday, September 1, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Phillip Stearnes, Ph.C., doctoral student, Department of Biology,
University of California, Riverside
“Life and Times of the Megalodon, the World's Largest
Shark That Ever Lived”
New research shows just how big this ocean predator was,
what it ate, how it lived, and why it became extinct.
Fossils of this super-shark have even been found in
Riverside County, dating from the time when the area was
under the Pacific Ocean. Click
here to reserve your free seat.
Friday, October 6, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Jennifer Mermilliod, architectural historian, JM Research &
Consulting, and Restored TV show historian
“Evergreen Cemetery: Riverside's Pioneer Burial Grounds
Reflect Local History and National Trends”
Learn about the evolution of American cemetery design,
funerary architecture, and death and burial practices
embodied in Riverside's oldest cemetery and
the extraordinary citizens its grounds embrace.
Friday, November 3, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Christopher Tracy, Ph.D., Director, Philip L. Boyd Deep
Canyon Desert Research Center, University of California
Natural Reserve System, University of California, Riverside
“Sand Between Their Toes: How Coachella Fringe-toed
Lizards Helped Us Understand Desert Lizards in Africa”
The Coachella Valley is the only place in the world where
the Coachella fringe-toed lizard lives. Herpetologist Dr.
Chris Tracy will introduce us to his decades-long study of
this federally protected lizards species, how it has
affected development and natural conservation in the valley,
and how that project took the research team from the Deep
Canyon Research Center to Africa's Namibian Desert to
understand more about lizards that live on sand dunes. Click
here to reserve your free seat.
Friday, December 1, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Cathy Gudis, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History,
University of California, Riverside
“From King Citrus to the Empire of Logistics”
The inland region today is occupied by over a billion square
feet iof warehouses, and Amazon is the biggest employer. Yet
the region was once promoted through vistas of seemingly
endless orchards and was known as the Orange Empire, where
citrus was king. How did we get to this point, where
logistics has dominated the landscape, and with what
implications? Click
here to reserve your free seat.
8193 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA 92504
Regular tours of Heritage House are held Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (12:15-3:15 p.m.)
We encourage guest safety. Please make a reservation to tour Heritage House via
Eventbrite link here.