2559 Puesta Del Sol, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Hours:
- Wednesday-Monday (10 AM-5 PM) Tuesday (Closed)
Admission Prices:
- Adult (18-64) = $19
- Senior (65 +) = $17
- Teen (13-17) = $17
- Child (2-12) = $14
- Under 2 = Free
- Museums for All – Recepients of Cal Fresh/Snap with valid card and valid photo ID = $3 per person for up to 4 family members per household/per card
Overview
Visitors to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History should know one thing: Be prepared to be blown away. In a city of so many phenomenal museums and attractions, The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History might just take the cake as the best of them. From hands on interactive exhibits to a planetarium, to over 3.5 million specimens including birds, mammals and Marine life, to Geology, Astronomy, Paleontology and Anthropology, this museum offers up a little bit of everything.
While I haven’t found some of the other Natural History Museums to be all that intriguing for me personally (such as the Los Angeles Natural History Museum), or all that kid friendly overall, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History made me feel the exact opposite. Here, visitors of all ages with a wide variety of preferences will find something they love. First of all, the grounds are absolutely stunning, with a serene nature feel, paths and a beautiful running stream along 17 acres of Oak Woodlands running along Mission Creek. Visitors will assuredly want to start by exploring the many indoor exhibits up entering the museum before journeying outside to explore “The Museums Backyard”.
Attractions and Exhibits
While the outside of the museum is a pleasant and relaxing reprieve into nature for everyone, kids will assuredly have their sights set on the “Nature Play Area” and the exciting “Prehistoric Forest” exhibit, which consists of animatronic Dinosaurs along a nature line paved trail along Mission Creek. For Dinosaur lovers, you just will not find something like this anywhere else. It is truly a phenomenal exhibit and is sure to be the highlight of any child’s trip to the museum. There is so much to see and do here at the museum so make sure to set aside a good chunk of the day to explore everything. For those still aching for more, you’re in luck as the Santa Barbara Mission and other countless Museums and attractions are just around the corner.
There are many exhibits to choose from at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Among them are some that are permanent and some that may be rotating or temporary. Below, I will describe most of the exhibits that were available upon our visit so that visitors can know what to expect. Most of these are permanent (or mostly permanent) exhibits. However, some exhibits are temporary or rotating so I will do my best to post the dates of when the exhibits run through. To see upcoming and past exhibits, you can check out this page at The Santa Baraba Natural History Museums website.
MUSEUM BACKYARD AND NATURE PLAY AREA EXHIBIT
Follow the boardwalk through the Oak Trees to reach the Nature Play Area and Clubhouse that sits right along Mission Creek
- This exhibit runs through April 5, 2029
- This exhibit features a fun and scenic boardwalk that leads to the Nature Play Area
- A nature clubhouse with a live snake and insects for kids to visit with and a touch table of natural objects
- A nature play area outside of the nature clubhouse with rocks, wood clippings and a dig pile
- An aviary with rehabilitated Raptors
MINERALS EXHIBIT
Come see, touch and learn about geodes, meteorites and other beautiful crystals and minerals
- This is an ongoing exhibit
- Over 100 specimens to view
- A light table for kids and a small mine exhibit
IMAGES OF INFINITY GALLERY EXHIBIT
Step into this gallery filled with phenomenal images of space taken from the James Webb Space Telescope
- This is a temporary exhibit that runs through September 15, 2024
- Images from the James Webb Space Telescope
- Enticing images of galaxies and faraway planets
PREHISTORIC FOREST
Prepare yourself for an unbelievable Dinosaur encounter in the wild. Come interact with the Animatronic Dinosaurs in a small Redwood Grove along Mission Creek.
- This is an ongoing exhibit
- Beautiful nature setting along Mission Creek with a small, albeit beautiful Redwood Grove
- Meet nine Dinosaurs, including four youngsters and five adults. The Dinosaurs include a T-Rex, Stegosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Triceratops and Euoplocephalus with their babies.
- A dig area with the calming sounds of Mission Creek just below.
Earth AND MARINE SCIENCES EXHIBIT
Explore the Santa Barbara region. Get to know the local marine life and their habitats through exhibits and dioramas.
- This is an ongoing exhibit
MAMMAL HALL EXHIBIT
Come explore bones, skulls, taxidermy and dioramas explaining and showing the mammal diversity of the Santa Barbara Region
- This is an ongoing Exhibit
- Lots of animals to learn about from the Santa Barbara region
- Explore animal bones, many of which kids can touch
SANTA BARBARA GALLERY EXHIBIT
Come explore the geology, ecology and beautiful landscapes of Santa Barbara through this lovely gallery.
- Amazing galleries displaying the beauty of Santa Barbara’s outdoors
- Get introduced to some of the wildlife that calls Santa Barbara its home
GLADWIN PLANETARIUM AND SPACE SCIENCES EXHIBIT
Although this exhibit was temporary and ended in 2024, it is a great representation of the exhibits that this museum offers. To see more of this exhibit you may visit The Santa Barbara Natural History Museums website.
- Temporary exhibit that ended March 31, 2024
- 3-D Stellarium star map
- Planetarium and mulitple Space Science Exhibits
BIRD HALL EXHIBIT
Scout’s Story
With a few days off from work, our family decided to take a short, multi day trip to Santa Barbara to camp and take in some sights. Our daughter, Scout, will turn 3 years old in exactly 3 months, as well as celebrate her one year anniversary of her cancer being in remission. The last time we visited Santa Barbara was nearly a year ago and Scout was right in the middle of her battle against stage 4 cancer. While we were able to do some fun stuff, we were a bit constrained to doing certain things due to Scout having virtually no immune system.
This time around Scout has no restrictions and we were excited to take her to the Zoo and Natural History Museum among other things. Our second day in Santa Barbara began with packing up our tent and campsite and heading towards The Natural History Museum of Santa Barbara.
Scout’s Day at the Natural History Museum of Santa Barbara
Recently, Scout has become absolutely obsessed with Dinosaurs. Trains have always been Scout’s thing but now Dinosaurs are becoming her main focus. After seeing The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History featured on a YouTube episode of Blippi, I knew Scout would love to visit and decided to set a date. Upon arriving we wandered the grounds briefly before heading over to the Prehistoric Forest Exhibit. As we went to cross the wooden bridge above Mission Creek, Scout came face to face with her first Dinosaur. Scout gasped and pointed, alerting us to the Dinosaur and her absolute thrill. We crossed the bridge and entered the Redwood Grove, following the trail to meet several Dinosaurs.
Scout was utterly amazed and watched as the Animatronic Dinosaurs moved around. She said hi to each Dinosaur and walked to and from each one, more times than I could count. This was such a great experience for our family and for Scout as well. Dinosaur lovers will absolutely love this museum, just as Scout did.
While we loved so many exhibits, the Prehistoric Forest Exhibit and the Museum Backyard and Nature Play Area were Scout’s favorites. Scout played with the rocks, sticks and wood carvings, before jumping from one tree stump to another. This is a fabulous area that also includes a Nature Clubhouse.
Expect to spend a half day here. Our family was absolutely blown away by this Natural History Museum. We were so grateful for these two days away from work to be able to camp and explore some new places with Scout. This was truly a great trip that our family won’t soon forget.
