GOINGS ON : S.B. Museum Display Shows Off Glitterati : Mineral specimens had been in storage while the natural history building underwent seismic upgrading work.

Pieces of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s mineral collection, in storage during the facility’s seismic upgrading, have been polished and are back for public viewing in three new display cases.

A three-foot quartz crystal is the main attraction in the center display. It is accompanied by samples of hematite, fool’s gold, and pale gypsum from the Cave of Swords National Monument in Chihuahua, Mexico. The other two displays are devoted to copper-based minerals and quartz.

The museum, located at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road, is open Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $4 for adults, $3 for teens and seniors, and $2 children age 2 to 12. Call 682-4711 for more information.

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Officials at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art are paying tribute to the influence of each of the museum’s seven directors, with an exhibit titled “Picasso to Christo: The Evolution of a Collection.”

Through the display’s 125 works of art, curator Diana C. du Pont shows how the museum’s collection of 20th-Century art has changed over the years. The show, on display through Jan. 30, includes work from 1910 to the present. Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Robert Mapplethorpe and Carrie Mae Weems are among the artists represented.

The museum, located at 1130 State St., is open Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. General admission is $3 for adults, $2.50 for seniors and $1.50 children age 6 to 16. Entry is free on Thursdays, the first Sunday of each month, and for children under age 6. Call 963-4364 for more information.

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Conductor Camilla Kolchinsky will lead the new Santa Barbara Opera Assn. in its first production of Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus,” Wednesday through Dec. 31 at the Lobero Theatre. Show time is 8 p.m. for each performance. Tickets for the productions Wednesday and next Thursday are $23, $19 and $16 (seniors). Tickets for the Dec. 31 show are $28, $24 and $19 (seniors). Call 963-0761 to reserve seats. Tickets will also be sold at the door. The theater is located at 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

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Santa Barbara’s Contemporary Arts Forum received a nice Christmas gift when the Santa Barbara Foundation awarded the art gallery a $4,500 grant. The funds will be used to purchase a Video Projection System.

“Over the last year or so we have been making an effort to include more video programming,” said CAF Director Nancy Doll. “This will enable us to do things on site, and not have to rent a system each time we do. We will have a projection system with a good-sized screen to present video art.”

Many of CAF’s exhibits involve video in one way or another, and the gallery maintains a library of artist-produced videos.

Doll said the new system, which she expected to be acquired by early 1994, will allow CAF staff to more easily take video programming to schools, community centers, and other public facilities, in an effort to promote art.

LOOKING AHEAD

Here’s a brief run-down of some Santa Barbara New Year’s Eve shindigs you may want to consider.

Swing dance instructors Jonatha & Sylvia will host a New Year’s Eve Dance at Carrillo Recreation Center from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

For Ballroom dancers, the Alberto Magdaleno Orchestra will play at the First United Methodist Church, from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. in a Park and Recreation Department event.

The Junior League of Santa Barbara, which helps finance community projects, has invited a nine-piece band to play at its party, at the Cutter Motors BMW showroom. The food-filled celebration will run from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

We’ll remind you of these events, and give your more details, next week.