Friday night activities
6 PM Friday to 8 AM Saturday

BioBlitz Camp-in: Overnight experience for families with children ages 6 and up. This camp-in will include spider and insect hunts with a real-life entomologist, owl and bat spotting in Balboa Park, activities and crafts about nocturnal animals, and a Saturday morning bird hike. Sign up here!

Saturday activities
FREE! 9 AM–3 PM with the final specimen count announced at 3:30 PM
All Saturday activities will center around several “BioBlitz Stations” in Balboa Park, near the San Diego Natural History Museum.

1– hour hikes led by scientists and volunteers:
10:30 AM and 12:30 PM—Hikes in Florida Canyon, led by paleontologists.
11 AM and 1 PM—Hikes in Florida Canyon, led by Canyoneers.
3:30 PM (Approximate time)—Hear the BioBlitz results presented by our scientists on the front steps of the South side of the Museum.

Documentation Station: The hub of BioBlitz, Documentation Station, will be a large tent where BioBlitz scientists will gather to sort, identify, and/or record the biodiversity found in the park. This station will be your chance to mingle with the scientists and ask questions. After 24 hours, the event’s findings will be announced here.

Microscope Station: Life is small, so see it close up!

Collections Station: Museum collections are very important to science. Find out why and see some of the San Diego Natural History Museum’s collections.

Urban Tracker Station: Get into the thick of BioBlitz with hikes in Florida Canyon led by Museum parabotanists, Canyoneers, and naturalist trackers.

Leaf Shapes and Leaf Bugs Station: Explore the different leaf shapes which help scientists group species into different categories. Craft included. (Targeted to the 0–6-year-old audience.)

Animal and Plant Signs Station: Explore how mammalogists use tracking and other animal signs to tell what species live in a certain range. Try our scat-matching game or plant scents game; just don’t get the two mixed up!

Drawing from Nature Station: Learn how to draw from nature. Liz Paegel, artist-in-residence, will discuss the connection between science and art.

Night-Shift Station: Much of BioBlitz takes place at night, when scientists will roam Balboa Park in search of nocturnal animals. View educational and interactive displays, and explore nature’s adaptations to life in the dark.