Standards-aligned experiences for your class! Reservations are required.

• Museum reservations taken Monday through Friday from 1:00–5:00 PM at 805-682-4711 ext. 108.
• Sea Center reservations taken Monday–Friday, 9:00AM–5:00 PM, at 805-962-2526 ext. 108.

 
MUSEUM EXPLORATIONS

• Mondays My Way
  (Monday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)
  Group size: maximum 80 students per hour.

  This is an opportunity for teachers to conduct investigations in the exhibit halls with their own classes. Teacher-prepared scavenger hunts, single hall studies, and special topic focus are some of the possibilities. Monday is the only week day that clipboards are allowed in the Museum.

• Interactive Tour

(Tuesday–Friday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)
Group size: maximum 80 students per hour. May be combined with a Discovery Lab or Outdoor Nature Exploration. Tours go to most of the Museum’s halls. Clipboards and other student supplies are not allowed on these tours; please see “Mondays My Way” for that option or to focus on one or more halls.

• Discovery Lab
  (Tuesday–Friday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)

Whale of a Tale: Ocean Ecosystem Investigations
In this hands-on exploration, students learn to ask meaningful questions about the sources of matter and energy in food chains through investigation of a portion of the open ocean exosystem. They measiure and estimate the weight, length, and volume of parts of our Blue Whale skeleton and organisms within its food chain. Graphs are constructed and interpreted from these measurements to better understand the nature of food webs.
 

• Outdoor Nature Explorations
  (Tuesday–Friday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)
  Group size: maximum one class. May be combined with an Interactive Tour or Discovery Lab.

Outdoor Nature Explorations

Students use investigative equipment to explore the various ecosystems available at the Museum: chaparral, oak woodland, and riparian. They look for aquatic plants and animals in Mission Creek and dig under compost to discover decomposers in the soil. Focus is on the characteristics of unique habitats, the interrelationship of plants and animals, food chains, and the important role of decomposers in an ecosystem. This experience offers the freedom to explore in a natural setting and make one’s own discoveries of what lives in various habitats and how things are connected.

SEA CENTER EXPLORATIONS

• Interactive Tour
  (Monday–Friday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)
  Group size: maximum 80 students.
  Interactive Tours give students the chance to observe, touch, and explore Santa Barbara's marine life in small groups. Trained docents guide engaging, interactive experiences with sharks and rays, tide pool animals, marine mammals, oceanography equipment, and live jellies. Students learn firsthand about animals and their role in the vast ocean food chains.

• Outdoor Explorations (on East Beach)
  (Monday-Friday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)
  May be combined with Self-guided Tour.
  
  
  • Shifting Sands
    Students examine and describe sand samples from East Beach. They carefully investigate local rocks, shells, plant and animal remnants, and other found objects for clues about the sand’s origin. After comparing local sand to samples from other regions, students draw conclusions about the composition and relative age of the samples. Students also observe and conduct experiments with water and sand to determine the effect of waves and wind on the shape of the beach.
    

• Discovery Lab (in the Sea Center)
  (Monday-Friday, 9:00–10:00 AM)
  May be combined with Self-guided Tour.
  
  
  • Ocean Food Chains
    Through hands-on inquiry, students discover the links and hierarchy of several ocean food chains. They retrieve samples of plankton from the ocean using scientific equipment. Microscopes and microviewers are used to identify producers and consumers among the specimens. Students also observe several animals feeding, including sea urchins, sea stars, and crabs. By the end of the discovery lab, students are able to categorize and compare producers with herbivores and carnivores in the ocean ecosystem.