Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center

It looks small but there is more than I expected. Fun little aquarium with plenty of interactive exhibits that children will love. If you have a WIC or SNAP benefits card with matching ID, tickets would only be $3 a person.

It felt small, but the kids got so into the experience, we spent an hour and a half there! They have touch pools and specimen collection on the bottom floor, the kids literally pulled up buckets of "sea pork" and other sea life to study under microscopes! The top floor had tanks, and a room where they could simulate swimming under water. And of course, the kinetic sand was a huge hit! I enjoyed the views from the top floor and the staff that clearly love what they do there. We will be back!

We took our 4 year old who had an absolute blast but there was enough in this small Sea Center to interest the adults as well (enough that I didn't snap many photos as I was following my little one and listening to the docents!) The interactive areas were highlighted with great docents. Educated but even more impressively warm and engaging, especially to the little ones. 100% would recommend spending some time at this location on the wharf. Quick shot of the Moon Jelly tank...

The Sea Center is small but perfect for toddlers and young children. My two toddlers loved the little aqarium tunnel and being able to touch the sea creatures!

My boys and I had so much fun. The staff was amazing, they took time answering every single questions my boys asked. Small place, upstairs was interesting but the touch tank is where the kids had a blast.

It's a cute little Aquarium. Very little Its comparable to my old high schools Aquarium program. No, it's nothing big or anything major. I just like to support local businesses and this type is close to the heart. It's got touch tanks and some people giving educational speeches about the wild life that live on our coast.. We took our baby for his birthday and he loved it! (He's 1), my husband asked "this is it? " 😆 🤣 😂 Guys, it's nothing fancy. If you want to just waste some time or take the Littles then sure why not! Only 15$ to get in and that goes towards the Aquarium so I'm all for it. It's got an upstairs too with some more tanks. The projector room it also up there so it made the whole room look like you're under the sea. With our baby, it took us 45 min to see everything. I think 20 min would be pretty standard for the average visit. It's not the Aquarium of the Pacific or Monterey Bay Aquarium.... it's a tiny but cute Aquarium.

Small Museum, but very cool. Loved the "pet a shark" tank. The museum docent for the shark tank was full of fun facts about the sharks and very friendly. I got to pet a tiger shark and a sting ray. They also had a really interesting shallow waters exhibit with star fish, sea anemones, sea snails, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins. The museum docent for that exhibit was fantastic. She gave a lot of information about the animals and thier habitats. For a small Museum, there's a lot for people to see.

I had a great experience with my mom and sister yesterday. The aquarium was much smaller than any aquarium I've been to before but its location on the pier added to a really unique experience unlike any aquariums I've seen on the east coast. My favorite exhibit showed off live specimens pulled from the ocean in that moment/that day. There was an open floor to the ocean where they would pull up a bucket for samples. Steen was the guide and helped explain and relate the specimens in a very understandable way. He was funny and answers all our questions. His coworkers as well were super friendly and knowledgeable! We were so impressed by their abilities to identify every unique creature on the spot. Their enthusiasm for their profession was so contagious. Would definitely come back specifically for this exhibit! It inspired my sister and I so much... made us question dropping everything to study marine biology lol