| Date opened | 1954[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | San Mateo, California |
| Land area | 3 acres (1.2 ha)[2] |
| Number of animals | 100[3] |
| Annual visitors | 75,000[1] |
| Memberships | AZA[4] |
| Website | www.curiodyssey.org |
CuriOdyssey, formerly Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, and Coyote Point Museum, is an environmental science and wildlife center located at 1651 Coyote Point Drive in San Mateo, California. It is part of Coyote Point Park, which overlooks the San Francisco Bay. The museum was founded in 1954 as the San Mateo County Junior Museum, and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The animals at the Coyote Point Museum have all been injured or imprinted in such a way that they would not survive in the wild. Most of the animals are native to California, though there are some animals that are housed here as part of the museum's Animal Ambassador program.[3]
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Coyote Point was originally an island with the San Francisco Bay on one side and tidal flats on the other. In the 1800s the tidal flats were filled in for use in dairy farming, and these are now a golf course.[5] In the early 1900s the land was turned into an amusement park, but this park was abandoned in 1923.[6]
During World War II, Coyote Point was home to a U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet School, which eventually became the first campus of the College of San Mateo. In 1962 the county bought the land, and in 1963 the college moved to its current location and the county park was established.[5][6]
The museum was founded in 1954 by the Junior League of San Francisco as the San Mateo County Junior Museum, and was housed in a Quonset hut on the point. It was renamed "Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education" in 1974, and the current facilities were opened in 1981.[1][5]
In July 2006, the museum made its mounting deficit (some $745,000) public. In August, it announced that it was considering two proposals to save the museum: one from "Campaign to Save Coyote Point Museum," and the other from the "11th Hour Project," which proposed to scrap the museum and build an education center for global warming. In 30 days, the Campaign to Save Coyote Point Museum had raised $540,247 in pledges from 776 donors, with an additional pledge from the Tomkat Foundation of $500,000 over four years. In September, they officially took over management of the museum.[2][7]
Rachel Meyer, formerly executive director of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, was named the new executive director of the zoo on March 19, 2007.[8]
On January 15, 2011, Coyote Point Museum officially unveiled its new name, CuriOdyssey.[9]
The museum has several interconnected areas that are intended to give visitors an introduction to the natural history of the bay area.[6]
The museum offers a range of hands-on programs designed for school and group educators in environmental science, as well as programs for the general public intended to help visitors explore, discover, and interact with nature.[1]
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