PRESS RELEASE

            Subject:                        $1,000 Prize for 30^TH Anniversary Celebration and Game     

            Contact Person:             Denise Lapp Tallman, Executive Director

                                                Central Coast Natural History Association

            Phone:                         805-772-2694 X101

            Email:                          ccnha@morrobaymuseum.org

            Date:                            Thursday, May 25, 2006

PASSPORT GAME OFFERS $1,000 GRAND PRIZE TO CELEBRATE

THE NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION 30^TH ANNIVERSARY!

A grand prize of $1,000 can be won by completing the newly released passport game sponsored by The Central Coast Natural History Association.  The one of a kind game was created by local docents, state park staff and CCNHA associates to mark the 30^th year CCNHA has provided education in local state parks.

“We wanted to celebrate our 30 years by focusing on all the state parks where we provide funds and support,” explained CCNHA Chair Cathy Novak.  “By completing the Passport, an adventurer will visit all our local state parks and learn a great deal about the programs available free for our community.” 

“Passport to Adventure” is an educational game featuring all the San Luis Obispo area State Parks.  Passport holders will visit any state park from Pismo Beach to Morro Bay to Estero Bluffs and seeking answers to 30 questions.  If the answer is correct, they can receive a special stamp at the Morro Bay Natural History Association, Pismo Nature Center, Spooner Ranch House in Montana de Oro and Monarch Grove when it opens Oct. 28.  A fully completed Passport will be put in a drawing for $1,000 grand prize, a $300 second place prize, and 10 $30 gift certificates to the CCNHA nature stores. 

Some of the questions include activities like attending a free Adventure with Nature walk and having the docent guide autograph your passport.  Other answers are hidden on the CCNHA web site.  Still others can only be answered by going to a local state park and looking for the answer. 

Passports are free and available at any of the four CCNHA store locations:  Pismo Nature Center, Morro Bay Museum of Natural History, Spooner Ranch House and Monarch Grove.  They can be played by people of all ages with a guardianship signature for children under the age of 18.

An easier version of the Passport game includes simply a visit to the four CCNHA facilities.   With just these four stamps alone a special prize is won by everyone.  All those who complete the additional 30 questions will receive a collectable bronze coin made especially for the Passport Game and cannot be purchased otherwise.

The “Passport to Adventure” game will conclude December 31, 2006 when CCNHA must have received the completed correct passport in order to be entered in the cash drawing.

For those people who cannot get to all the parks to find the answers to the questions, it will be possible to actually “buy” a passport stamp to be used on any of the 30 questions in the Passport, for a mere $30.00 each.  There is no limit to the number of stamps that can be purchased.

For more information phone 772-2694 x101 or 102.