The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is located just behind the Old Mission and offers visitors of all ages a wealth of things to see and do. Walk right up to a life size, 72-foot Blue Whale skeleton. Enjoy informative exhibit halls about birds, insects, mammals, marine life, fossils, and Native Americans. Contemplate the beauty of nature and the confluences of nature, history, science, and the arts in the Maximus Art Gallery. Browse and read in the beautiful Museum Library, including its excellent children’s collection. Wander and explore the Nature Trail along Mission Creek. Experience the wonder and excitement of space exploration in the Space Lab and Gladwin Planetarium. Purchase mementos and unique gifts at the Museum Store. Enjoy our changing exhibit offerings.

Owned and operated by the Museum, the Ty Warner Sea Center is located on Stearns Wharf. The Sea Center features interactive experiences and exhibits to introduce visitors to the marvelous diversity of ocean life in the Santa Barbara region and how we can help protect it for the benefit of future generations. Touch sharks in the shark pool and sea urchins in the touch tank. Help Sea Center staff and volunteers collect samples of ocean water and examine it for tiny and strange looking plankton. Crawl through a 1,500-gallon tidepool tank to see ocean life from a different perspective. Enjoy our changing exhibit offerings.

LOCATIONS, HOURS, ADMISSION & PARKING

• HOURS
  > Open Daily 10:00 AM–5:00 PM.
  > Closed: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve (at 3 PM), Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and last Saturday in June for the Santa Barbara Wine Festival™.

• ADMISSION
  > Museum Members FREE.
  Get your Museum membership and enjoy unlimited free admission to the Museum and Sea Center, plus more than 320 museums and science centers worldwide.
  
  > Non-Members: $10/adult; $7/senior (65 and over); $7/Teen (13-17); $6/Child (3-12).
  
  > Children under 3 free.

• PARKING
  > Free.
   

TRAVEL TIP: Get the SB Nature Pass and enjoy unlimited admission to both the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and Ty Warner Sea Center for two consecutive days for one low price. Ask an Admissions Representative for more information.

View Larger Map

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Ty Warner Sea Center
211 Stearns Wharf
Santa Barbara, California 93101 USA
805-962-2526

* The Sea Center is a pet-free and non-smoking campus. Please, no food or drinks in the exhibit halls.

• HOURS
  > Open Daily 10:00 AM–5:00 PM.
  > Closed: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve (at 3 PM), Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day

• ADMISSION
  > Museum Members FREE.
  Get your Museum membership and enjoy unlimited free admission to the Museum and Sea Center, plus more than 320 museums and science centers worldwide.
  
  > Non-Members: $8/adult; $7/senior (65 and over); $7/Teen (13-17); $5/Child (2-12).
  
  > Children under 2 free.
   
• PARKING
  > Public parking on Stearns Wharf is free for the first 90 minutes with ticket validation by a wharf merchant.

TRAVEL TIP: Get the SB Nature Pass and enjoy unlimited admission to both the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and Ty Warner Sea Center for two consecutive days for one low price. Ask an Admissions Representative for more information. Also check out the AMTRAK Special Summer 2010 Promotion.


View Larger Map

HOW TO GET TO THE MUSEUM

• From the North: Take U.S. Hwy 101 south to the Mission Street exit. Turn left (towards the hills) at the offramp stop light.
   
• From the South: Take U.S. Hwy 101 north to the Mission Street exit. Turn right (towards the hills) at the offramp stop light.

Proceed on Mission to Santa Barbara Street. Turn left on Santa Barbara Street, proceed two blocks to the first stop sign at Los Olivos.

Turn right on Los Olivos and continue past The Old Mission which will be on your left.

Stay to the left on Los Olivos at the "Y" beyond The Old Mission. You will cross a stone bridge . . . you are nearly here!

Turn left on Las Encinas and then left again on Puesta del Sol. Proceed to the first parking lot driveway and turn right. Parking is free.

HOW TO GET TO THE SEA CENTER

• From the North: Take U.S. Hwy 101 south to the Garden Street exit. Turn right (towards the ocean) at the offramp stop light.
   
• From the South: Take U.S. Hwy 101 north to the Garden Street exit. Turn left (towards the ocean) at the offramp stop light.
   
• After exiting the freeway, proceed on Garden Street to Cabrillo Blvd. 
   
• Turn right onto Cabrillo Blvd.

• Turn left onto Stearns Wharf at the intersection of Cabrillo Blvd. and State Street.
   
• Drive onto the pier, and the Sea Center is to your left as you drive onto Stearns Wharf. Public parking on Stearns Wharf is free for the first 90 minutes with ticket validation by a wharf merchant.