• Museum reservations taken Monday through Friday from 1:00–5:00 PM at 805-682-4711 ext. 108.
• Sea Center reservations taken Tuesday–Friday, 1:00–5:00 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.
  
  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–Noon)
  Group size: maximum 80 students. May be combined with a Planetarium Program. 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.
   
• Outdoor Nature Explorations
  (Tuesday–Friday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)
  Group size: maximum one class.
  
  
  • Watershed Ecology
    Students observe and record the biotic and abiotic factors indicating the health of Mission Creek. Water quality testing is conducted and data collected. Students catch aquatic animals and make identifications from keys. The health of a creek can be determined by observing which aquatic insects are present or absent.
  • Geology Walk
      Students investigate the dynamic processes of the Earth's surface by direct observation walking the Mission Creek area.  Students will see evidence of a paleo channel, fault lines, uplift, mountain building, erosion, sedimentation, and a catastrophic geological event.
     
• Planetarium Programs
  (Tuesday–Friday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)
  May be combined with a Self-guided Tour.
  Capacity: 44, including adults.
  
  
  • The Sun and Its Family
    Students take a multimedia journey to the Sun, visit each of the planets, and explore comets and other celestial bodies before returning home to view the evening sky.
     
  • Star Stories (Friday, only)
    Students will locate the constellations of the evening sky as they learn about the Greek and Roman mythology of the stars.  (aligned with Social Studies standards)

SEA CENTER EXPLORATIONS

• Self-guided Tour
  (Monday–Friday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)
  Group size: maximum 80 students.
   
• Outdoor Explorations (on East Beach)
  (Monday–Friday, 10:00–11:00 AM; 11:00 AM–Noon)
  May be combined with Self-guided Tour.
  
  
  • Beach Profiling
    
    Students employ the tools of marine scientists and coastal geologists to gather data and graph a side view of the topography of East Beach in Santa Barbara. In small groups, they learn how to sight the horizon through transit rods and record elevation measurements at two-meter intervals along a single line transect. Students also conduct experiments with water and sand to determine the effect of waves on the beach. Finally, they draw conclusions about the natural forces that shape the beach over time.
     
• Discovery Lab (in the Sea Center)
  (Monday–Friday, 9:00–10:00 AM)
  May be combined with Self-guided Tour.
  
  
  • Energy Exchange in the Ocean
    Students investigate the energy-related connections between organisms and the environment within an ocean ecosystem. They retrieve and explore samples of plankton, kelp, and sand-dwelling invertebrates from the ocean using scientific equipment. They also observe larger ocean animals such as crabs and fish in the Sea Center tanks. After categorizing these living organisms according to the functions they serve (i.e., producers, consumers, decomposers), students create food webs to show how energy flows through the ocean ecosystem beginning with sunlight.