Another thrilling Creepy Creatures took place at the Neal Taylor Nature Center on October 4th, where droves of kids, families and campers visited for some nature-fueled fun and eerie entertainment. Over 400 attendees showed up and were awed by various outdoor activities, exhibits, and live animals, as well as a special Creepy Creatures scavenger hunt in our indoor nature center exhibits.
The Neal Taylor Nature Center has been hosting this signature Halloween-themed event for over 20 years! This year, we brought Halloween music with MC Spooky and spooky mask-making with Amigas Arts & Crafts. A nature center volunteer dressed as a witch served popcorn and witch's brew (secret ingredient: lemonade). Attendees also enjoyed perusing the Nature Center's engaging exhibits and gift shop.
Nature center docent John, dressed as Hans Christian Andersen, hosted our popular Bear Trivia Game Show. With a real bear pelt displayed on the table, John asked the audience various bear-related trivia questions, and if they got it right, they could pick from a selection of prizes.
Alice Abella came with her remarkable plethora of slithering and slimy creatures. She brought a gopher snake, which is a non-venomous snake that can mimic venomous rattlesnakes by waving its tail and flattening its head to look like a viper. She brought the formidable black widow spider, locked away safely in its terrarium showing off its signature red hourglass markings. There were also several salamanders, tarantulas, and lizards.
The Santa Barbara Zoo brought a spin wheel game where visitors answered trivia for various prizes, including stickers and a "Condor Kids Field Guide Coloring Book". Their table highlighted the importance of vultures and condors for our local ecosystems.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History came out with several taxidermy specimens, including a wet otter intestine specimen in a jar with an attached tapeworm! Yuck!
They also brought taxidermy scorpions, tarantulas, bats, crows, several reptiles and more. They hosted a "guess the animal" game where they covered a taxidermy specimen in a cloth and had people ask questions to try to guess the animal underneath. Here's a photo of a desert tortoise that they brought!
Santa Barbara County Community Services brought Park Naturalist Parker and Camp Host Lucinda to host a table with real skulls, bones and pelts that participants could touch! The table featured several unique specimens like a dolphin skull, a bobcat pelt, and so much more.
Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network (SBWCN) set up a table with various realistic animal puppets, as well as photos of animals that had their real weight attached to them. Visitors could guess how much an animal would weigh, then pick up the photo to see if they were right. We were astounded to learn that the California Myotis bat, which lives in our bat boxes at the Neal Taylor Nature Center, weighs on average 4.8 grams. That weighs less than a mouse or two pieces of paper!
Overall, the event garnered lots of excitement, while amazing and educating attendees about the wonderful world of fascinating fauna.
Special thanks to all of the Creepy Creatures 2025 presenting partners:
Alice Abela, Amigas Arts & Crafts, MC Spooky, Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network (SBWCN), Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara County Community Services, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
We hope you enjoy these photos and video from the event, and that you will join us for Creepy Creatures in the future!
