Hours:
Open daily 10am-5pm; Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve (3:00 p.m.), Christmas Day, New Years Day.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center is a fun, engaging, interactive marine education facility located on Stearns Wharf. Owned and operated by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the ea Center fulfills the mission of the Museum to inspire a passion for the natural world.

Interactive exhibits, scientific discovery:

• Opportunities to work like scientists, sampling and testing ocean water, studying animal behavior, and examining microscopic marine life
• Live tide pool animal encounters
• A theater showcasing the wonders of the Santa Barbara Channel
• At the Sea Center, you will discover the fun science and the wonders of the natural world.
• Enter the two-story glass foyer and greet a 39-foot, life-size model of a California Gray whale and her calf.
• Crawl through a tunnel inside a 1,500 gallon surge tank to see the life of the ocean. Observe sea stars, urchins, limpets, and much more.
• Be an oceanographer for a day. Take ocean samples and view sea life close up through video magnifiers. Test your ocean samples to determine water quality.
• Learn about ongoing scientific research, get an update on marine mammal sightings, and sing along with whales and seals.

Directions:
Take the 101 to the Garden Street exit. Turn towards the ocean.  Turn right Cabrillo Blvd. Turn left at State Street on to Stearns Wharf.