Open House Program of Activities and Exhibits
Scheduled Events
Listen to special presentations about the history and pre-history of the preserve, and watch a film about activities going on today.
Inside the Sun Field Station classroom:
- 10:30am-11:00am AND 1:30pm-2:00pm —Historical Highlights of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve by Julie Cain, Stanford University’s Historic Preservation Planner
- 11:00am-11:30am AND 2:00pm-2:30pm—Geology of Jasper Ridge (or Life on the San Andreas Fault) by Richard Nevle, Deputy Director of Stanford University’s Earth Systems Program
- 11:30am-1:30pm—Enjoy a continuously playing, 15-minute video by Tamsin Orion: Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve: Stanford's Global Backyard. Highlights why the preserve is so important locally, nationally, and internationally.
Outside Sun Field Station, under the oak trees:
- 11:30am-1:30pm—Metamorphoses: What Passes, What Remains; Poetry, Prose, and Dance. Readings of poetry, prose, and an original dance performance by well-known artists will also include an open mic where you can participate. Featuring Deema Shehabi, Mike Shewmaker, Kim Shuck, Andrew Dugas, Amos White, Lynn Stegner, Bonnie Wai-Lee Kwong, Ronja Ver, Katarina Ericsson, Chris Chafe, and Nancy Etchemendy.
Download Poets and Authors Flyer (PDF)
Research and education exhibits in and around the Sun Field Station
- Citizen Science: Setting Up a Camera Trap in Your Backyard - Simon Morgan
- Citizen Science: Using iNaturalist to Map Biodiversity - Scott Loarie
- Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in the Anthropocene (Video) - Tony Barnosky and Liz Hadly
- Listening to Nature: Acoustic Monitoring at Jasper Ridge - Ron Arps, Lia 'Bear' Kim, Sophia Christel
- Plants of Jasper Ridge - Carl Cheney, Alice Cummings, Ann Lambrecht, Dawn Neisser, Vivian Neou, John Rawlings, Diane Renshaw, Rebecca Reynolds
- Earth's Toughest Creatures: Tardigrades on Parade - Ricky Cordova
- Arthropods of Jasper Ridge - Jack Owicki and Pierre Martineau
- Acorn Woodpecker Social Behavior and Patterns of Acorn Production - Walt Koenig
- Photo slideshows and research poster gallery
- Mongolian Ger (“yurt”) highlighting Jasper Ridge international projects
Self-Guided Hikes
Take a hike to learn more about what goes on at the preserve.
Two self-guided walks start at Leslie Shao-ming Sun Field Station, and will take you to stations where you will meet preserve researchers and some points of interest indicated by numbers keyed on the map and Trail Guide that will be available at the event.
- Lake Hike This 1.7-mile loop will take you about two-and-a-half hours if you stop at exhibit stations. It is mostly level but has some moderate hills. You will learn about Searsville Dam and Reservoir, how whole ecosystems live inside a flower, geology of the preserve, and much more. Note that for safety reasons children under 14 years old cannot cross Searsville Dam; you can take the alternate route around the dam which adds 0.2 miles. (Parents carrying their infants in backpacks are allowed to cross the dam.)
- Creek Hike This walk to the creek and back is about 0.8 miles and will take hour or even longer if you participate in exhibit stations along the way. You will go down a moderate hill and back up on the return. You will learn about ants and mountain lions, and how Stanford is working to conserve nature
Researcher and education exhibits along self-guided hike routes
- Seeing Nature through Art (with activity tables for kids) - Catherine Chalmers
- San Mateo County Libraries/Exploratorium Lookmobile
- The San Francisquito Creek Watershed and Its Inhabitants (with activity tables for kids) - Alan Launer and Esther Cole Adelsheim
- Camera Trapping to Monitor Wildlife - Kevin Leempoel and Trevor Hebert
- Citizen Science: Tracking Ants Through Decades - Merav Vonshak and Angie Nakano
- Mining for Answers: Characterizing the Movement and Impact of Mercury in Terrestrial Ecosystems of California - Sergio Redondo
- Searsville Dam and Reservoir: An Old Dam, A New Ecosystem, and Lots of Mud - David Freyberg
- Birdwatching Station - Peter Hart, Diane Hart, Lucas Pavan, Ed Ehmke, Malia DeFelice
- Nectar microbes, hummingbirds, and monkey flowers - Tad Fukami
- Stories Told by Tree Rings - Steve Barg
- Conservation Paleobiology: What the Past Tells Us About the Future - Maria Viteri
- Plant Diseases of California Grasslands - The Erin Mordecai Lab
- Precursors to earthquakes: fact or fiction? The Jasper Ridge Ultra-Low Frequency ElectroMagnetic Monitoring Station - Simon Klemperer and Karl Kappler
- Historic Searsville: Bygone Days at Jasper Ridge - Julie Cain
- Saving Endangered Species with Feces: The Wonderful World of Scat and Tracks (with activity tables for kids) - Jordana Meyer
