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Visitor tip
Start your visit with the planetarium first—visitors rave about its immersive experience despite its small size, and it sets a great tone for the rest of your visit before moving to other exhibits.
About Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Exhibits featuring area history & nature. Landmark with various exhibits including regional history, art, a planetarium & a butterfly garden.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Natural History Museum
- Highlights
- Sprague Butterfly Pavilion, Lepidoptera collection, Palmer Observatory star parties, Sea Center marine exhibits
- Hours
- Daily 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
- Membership
- Yes, available
What visitors say
I visited the Natural History Museum during summer break and bought our tickets, paying a little extra for the Butterfly Pavilion—it was a bit “extra,” but absolutely worth it. The first thing that caught my attention was the…
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a great place to visit and bring your children to. Offers a good amount of history and information on mammals, birds, science, prehistoric animals, Chumash people and many, many more things…
What an amazing Museum to visit we had no idea the history we would see with the largest whale skelton in the world. There is an indoor area you can visit to check out the history and animals around Santa Barbara, learn about the…
From 1,594 Google reviews
Did You Know?
- The museum features the largest whale skeleton in the world according to visitor reviews
- The Sprague Butterfly Pavilion is currently nominated for USA Today's 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards 2026
- The museum operates both a main Natural History Museum and a separate Sea Center location with interactive touch pools and shark-focused programming
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