Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center — Attraction in Santa Barbara

As a volunteer at the Sea Center since 2020 I want to share my experience with the amazing animals and staff. First of all it's open for all, children and olders including people using a wheelchair (there is an elevator inside just ask for it) 🙌

Purchase the ticket on-site. The price for adults (18-64) is $12, Senior (=65) is $10, teenager (13-17) is $10, child (2-12) is $9 and free for child under 2 years old and members.

Open daily from 10 am to 5pm. There is a parking on the pieer (Stearns Wharf). Free for 90 minutes and then $2.50 per hour. $20 daily maximum. But it can be crowded, you can also find nearby city lots that also offer the 90 first minutes free.

Volunteers and staff keep the mask but if they don't it's because they are vaccinated for the covid and choose to not wear it in that case they will wear a badge "vaccinated"

𝟭) Downstair you have all the touch tanks with awesome animals that you are allowed to touch. (Good moment to teach your children to be gentle with the animals !). You will be able to touch very friendly sharks, stingray, starfishes but also sea cucumber, sea urchins, anemones, sea snails. There is also the "wet deck" where you will learn about all the scientist tools used for studying the ocean and the animals. All the time you will be accompanied with volunteers and staff that teach about the ecosystem, the animals and to answer all your questions.

𝟮) upstairs you will find more animals in aquariums (no touch), with an abalone and marine mammal stand. Very beautiful and interesting, always with explanations along the way.

There are no public toilets available inside. So use the one just outside the building before entering. Think to bring a jacket in case of wind, and short sleeves for touching the animals in the water. I can tell that all animals are very well fed and in a very good health (and beautiful !). They all do a very good job 👏 I think you have all you need now to enjoy your day at the sea center 😁 Welcome in...

I am going to just skip to the ratings first.

Location 5/5

Cost 5/5

Staff/Scientists 5/5

Overall 5/5

Location/Cost

Now to the review, this location seems small from the outside and the (as of February of 2023) 14 dollar entry fee seemed kind of high, but the quality of the interaction and the extremely knowledgeable staff/scientists and interactive animal area create an opportunity for learning you rarely see.

Staff

Every staff member was friendly and provide details about the animals and the scientific process they use to gather information or interact with the exhibit. The front desk was knowledgeable and the hands on opportunities were boosted by the enthusiasm and friendliness of staff!

Overall

I am going to break it down into two separate reviews, first if you are local and can use the double pass they have for the zoo and museum of natural history, completely worth it, I was only able to visit the museum but the amount of interaction kid friendly exhibits was excellent! After 3 visits for a family of 4 the adventure pass practically pays for itself.

For those coming from out of town, like I was, it is a worthwhile for those with kids and actually just a fun visit for anyone enjoying the peer. Additionally, don't forget to go to the upper level of the museum to see the island creating exhibit and enjoy the beautiful view from the upper level from the wall of windows on the back side of the building.

This will definitely be on my list the next time I am in...

It's a cute little Aquarium. Very little Its comparable to my old high schools Aquarium program. No, it's nothing big or anything major. I just like to support local businesses and this type is close to the heart. It's got touch tanks and some people giving educational speeches about the wild life that live on our coast.. We took our baby for his birthday and he loved it! (He's 1), my husband asked "this is it? " 😆 🤣 😂 Guys, it's nothing fancy. If you want to just waste some time or take the Littles then sure why not! Only 15$ to get in and that goes towards the Aquarium so I'm all for it. It's got an upstairs too with some more tanks. The projector room it also up there so it made the whole room look like you're under the sea. With our baby, it took us 45 min to see everything. I think 20 min would be pretty standard for the average visit. It's not the Aquarium of the Pacific or Monterey Bay Aquarium.... it's a tiny but...