Gray Whale sculpture (Museum of Natural History)

Santa Cruz, California, United States

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Animals and creatures

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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A life-size gray whale sculpture outside the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, unveiled on 16 October 1982 and restored in 2025 with a new calf beside it. The museum credits boat builder Al Hipkins working with artist Larry Foster.

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Gray Whale sculpture (Museum of Natural History)

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Site-level location · 36.9583° N, 121.9930° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

A life-size gray whale rests beside a Santa Cruz beach, built so that children could climb on it. The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History says its staff and supporters dreamed of a permanent gray whale sculpture that would be both a playground and an educational landmark.

The idea followed temporary exhibits by artist Larry Foster's whale sculptures. In 1977 and 1979 the museum showed two of his works: Sandy, a ferrocement gray whale now at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, and Pheena, a fiberglass fin whale now at the Lawrence Hall of Science. By 1982 the campaign was raising money through lectures and walkathons.

The museum says local ferrocement boat builder Al Hipkins, working with Foster, made the sculpture, and that it was unveiled on 16 October 1982. It sits in Tyrrell Park between the museum and Seabright State Beach. Visit Santa Cruz County describes it as originally hollow but later filled with concrete, 16 yards, estimated at 32 tons, close to the 30 to 40 tons it gives for a real gray whale.

After 33 years of resurfacing the details had faded, and in mid-April 2025 an eight-week restoration began, led by the museum with the City of Santa Cruz and funded by donors, according to the museum and Visit Santa Cruz County. Nautilus Arts Studio and Whitlow Concrete resurfaced the whale, refined its eyes, blowhole and proportions, and added a calf swimming beside its mother. UC Santa Cruz professor Ari Friedlaender advised on accuracy. The whales were unveiled on 18 June 2025, with new interpretive signs by Sammy Chang.

The museum is at 1305 East Cliff Drive.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

An outdoor sculpture of a gray whale and calf in Tyrrell Park, with interpretive signs added in 2025. The museum's website lists hours of 11am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 5pm at weekends, closed Mondays; museum admission is separate from the sculpture.

ACCESS

Outside the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, in Tyrrell Park between the museum and Seabright State Beach.

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Surfer statue

Santa Cruz, California

"To Honor Surfing" is a bronze surfer statue on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, California, near Steamer Lane. Created by sculptors Thomas Marsh and Brian W. Curtis and unveiled in May 1992, it honours the 1936 Santa Cruz Surfing Club and all surfers. Good Times gives its height as 18 feet.

Public art

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3.0 km away

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