Natural History Museum

On Sterns Wharf in Santa Barbara, California is the Natural History Museum and Sea Center. The Ty Warner Sea Center and Museum offers marine exhibits, and aquaria windows looking into Santa Barbara Channel. The sea center is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Entry is $8, $7, and $5 for adults, seniors, and children. Museum members get in free at the Sea Center.

The museum is in a separate building offering long dead skeletons and reproductions of dinosaurs and other artifacts. As a natural history museum there are gems, rocks, Native American artifacts, and much more on display. The exhibits focus mainly on Santa Barbara as a region, though other items were found elsewhere in California. The museum is designed to interest, make aware, and offer education to museum visitors on several levels. Students can learn this information for the first time, while adults can be re-delighted by remembering childhood memories of natural history. It is an intellectual and emotional experience. The exhibits use a variety of media and technology to present the information.

Among the other offerings is Gladwin Planetarium, which is near the museum. As a separate building, but part of the museum, visitors can learn about the stars too.