So many visitors to Santa Barbara want to just see the Mission, the Funk Zone, State Street and grab a taco or a glass of wine. If they miss the Museum of Natural History, they are truly missing one of the great asset of this wonderful city. Founded in 1916, the museum has a variety of indoor exhibit halls and outdoor spaces to provide additional hands-on and interactive learning opportunities to visitors.

Permanent exhibits focus on regional natural history, including:

 native wildlife (particularly botany, entomology, mammalogy, and ornithology), marine life, and the history of native Chumash people,  more than 3.5 million specimens.

Additional exhibits focus on astronomy, geology, paleontology, and the area’s unique Mediterranean climate. Among the facilities are a historic research library, the Palmer Observatory, and the John & Peggy Maximus Gallery, housing a collection of over 5,000 antique nature prints and illustrations. The museum claims to host the only full-dome planetarium on the Central Coast.

Our recent visit was rewarded with a a fascinating astronomy show, a close up of the remarkable raptors of Santa Barbara, an exciting walk through the Prehistoric Forest with roaring and growling animatronics, art, Mammal Hall, gems and minerals, all in a lovely setting surrounding a refreshing courtyard.

Our favorite stop was the extremely popular Butterflies Alive! summer exhibit in the Sprague Butterfly Pavilion. Featuring a dazzling variety of more than two dozen tropical butterfly species from Costa Rica, this immersive experience welcomes guests to walk through a beautiful garden while about 1,000 live butterflies flutter freely around them. We peered into the emergence chamber in Santa Barbara Gallery to see butterflies at an earlier stage of life and we even witnessed an adult butterfly popping out of its chrysalis! Visit https://www.sbnature.org/

The museum is located at 2559 Puesta del Sol Santa Barbara, CA 93105; (805) 682-4711. Tickets can be purchased at https://tickets.sbnature.org/events/5448b2a4-83de-ec92-bec3-a1634029ac19

Spend the day and enjoy explore nature 17 acres of oak woodland along Mission Creek!