Seymour Marine Discovery Center — Attraction in Santa Cruz

The Seymour Center was a fantastic venue for our wedding – it had the perfect mix of stunning ocean views for our outdoor ceremony and a unique indoor reception space featuring marine exhibits. We were lucky that between booking and the time of our wedding they renovated the La Feliz reception room and replaced the older blue carpet with a beautiful hardwood floor – a dramatically superior improvement! Important things to note: Since this center is for public education, the arrangement of the exhibit hall space can change after you book (be flexible on reception set-up) and you can’t set up for your wedding until after it closes to the public at 4pm. This would likely not be a good venue for those wanting elaborate ceremony decorations or reception set-up because of this time crunch. This rule also makes it absolutely crucial to hire vendors who are familiar with the space and its cleaning rules. However, I would’ve liked a better area for guests to mingle and wait out of the way other than the parking lot in front of the center. It would be nice if they offered a ‘buy-out’ option so that we could close it even an hour earlier to allow more time for set-up, especially since there was less than 5 people in the center during that final hour. In addition, several significant features were separate costs outside of the packages such as reception lighting, storing items at the venue in advance, and a ‘get-ready’ room – so budget accordingly. Emily and her team are very kind and accommodating with answering all of our questions throughout planning and we were able to coordinate around these constrictions with their help. Our wedding day went incredibly smoothly and we had such a positive experience, and you truly cannot beat hearing ocean waves as you walk down the aisle to your wedding. Would highly recommend the Seymour Center if you are looking for a memorable and unique venue!

Photos: By Katie &...

I’m so glad we finally decided to go to Seymour Marine Discovery Center. We have been living in Santa Cruz for over four years and for some reason never visited Seymour before. Well, our loss.

This place is great. The amount of things you will learn here is off the books. All of the volunteers were amazing and very attentive. You can totally see how they love what they are doing. They were so engaging that my four years old daughter was interested during our whole visit - which is impressive. From touching a swollen shark to learning about Seal sounds and their fur, from holding a hermit crab to touching a few different sea stars, and much more, we enjoyed every part of our visit. So thanks Bonnie, Lynn, Dale, Tais and all the other volunteers that made our visit to Seymour so pleasant. Some of the activities geared towards kids include a scavenger hunt, stamps, touch pool, puzzles and more.

Remember that they are part of a marine lab, so there are people researching and actually working on the background to learn even more about the marine life surrounding us.

We did the tour and I was once again amazed by how knowledgeable these people are. I learned so many things that I was as excited as my 4yo. The blue whale skeleton is certainly a highlight of the tour, especially when you get to stand ”inside the whale’s belly.”

Take your time to read as many signs and details as you can. I can guarantee that you will learn something new. Remember that this is a small aquarium/marine center, so don’t compare it to bigger aquariums. Think about Seymour as a research center. These guys are working daily to learn more and protect our amazing ocean. And they share their knowledge with us. So forget about size and enjoy...

This is such a great center, regardless if you are bringing children, going for your inner child, or if you are simply passionate about marine life and the surrounding bay! Keep in mind it is small, and you can't go into it expecting to see The Monterey Bay Aquarium. Totally different type of facility.

So, my children - ages six and nine - had a great time interacting with all the displays, and that was after being completely wowed by the massive eighty-five foot blue whale skeleton greeting us upon arrival. They enjoyed exploring the various forms of sea life and were enthused at the opportunity to touch sharks, sea cucumbers, bat stars, urchins and more. The tour really is a must, and my children were ecstatic to learn they were able to see dolphins. There were three on site, and each was active and playful. The two young dolphins spent our time there wrestling with each other. All of the docents and volunteers are extremely knowledgeable and thoroughly enjoy sharing their knowledge. This is a working facility; students and researchers are seen sporadically moving about with smiles on their faces. Behind the center is a public access coastal trail system. Spend some extra time walking the cliffs, or just hanging out on the benches watching for whales. You'll see plenty of marine activity! I have to admit, I left with the desire to go back to school for a new degree, to pursue a new career!

Oh - Natural Bridges State Beach is right next door, if you'd like to spend some time in a gorgeous cove...