I loved it, better than expected. There were two whale skeletons outside and an otter skeleton inside! Seal pelts you can touch and a live shark you can stroke. There were starfish with unusual numbers of legs. There was a lobster who recently molted out of his shell. The informational signs were more sciencey than normal, including descriptions of scientific experiments and discoveries, stories about scientists exploring the ocean etc. Nice little gift shop too, not too overpriced. My nephews loved the outing, it got us out of the house on a rainy day.

Have been going every other year for 12 years now. It's a fairly small aquarium but still has a good selection of things to see and interact with. The staff are helpful and knowledgeable. On this most recent trip we were able to pet some swell sharks which was very cool. They have an amazing whale skeleton out front which is very impressive. There is a short tour which takes you around the outside of the facility where you can see dolphins among other things. It's been closed since covid, but will reopen very shortly (July 2022) apparently. It's the highlight of the aquarium. There's a gift shop inside and we have packed lunches and used the benches out front to eat lunch in the past. If your looking for something to do in Santa Cruz and only need to kill an hour or so, this is your place.

This is a really great place to visit if you love the ocean and all inhabitants. The blue whale skeleton outside is pretty awesome... its so long! The exhibits inside were great. Really enjoyed our time here.

Make sure you check the aquarium schedule. The trails are open during daylight time, and nobody can pay enough for their enjoyment of the view. Parking was easy for us, but it could be packed at times. No charge for parking.

Blue whale & gray whale skeleton outside. Pretty Oceanside view. We touch live Swell shark skin, live sea stars& otter skin specimen. Starfish takes its time to turn back to its preferred position. Nice walking trails with sea view & surfers enjoy surfing. Fun!

Great place for individuals, families and children to learn and explore. The Seymour Discovery Center could be added to your walk or a bike ride through native landscape on any day, enjoy touch and feel the outdoor exhibits (whale skeleton and life-size elephant seal sculptures) located on a beautiful coast with excellent views. Also can spend couple of hours visiting a variety of unique and interactive indoor exhibits, and experience the thrill of scientific discovery through breathtaking photos captured by UC Santa Cruz researchers and their collaborators.

Loved visiting this spot! And an extra thank you to the employee Cameron, who told us all about the exhibits when we asked and gave us great recommendations for Santa Cruz as well. Hoping to return!

My daughter and I enjoy coming here. It's not a very large aquarium, it doesn't have a lot going on, and not much ever changes, but every time we've come we've seen something really amazing! No crowds mean you can spend as much time as you want looking and talking about what you see-- the people working there have always had plenty of time to answer questions.

This discovery center is relatively small but filled with great educational stations, opportunities for hands on experiences and beautiful views upon exiting. I enjoyed my visit because it didn't feel overwhelming. Also, I appreciated that the staff welcomed curious adults like myself to touch animals and get involved without making you feel a kind of way. Great place for family trips, dates and solo exploration. Plus, beautiful area to take pics. I recommend this place hands down!

This is a good place for kids to learn those marine animals. And btw I figure it out the best way to take pictures. You just need shot against the pictures

The volunteers and staff are very knowledgeable and friendly! They make a point to engage with every person that walks through the door. You can tell that everyone that is there is passionate about the animals and research that is being done. The facility is very family friendly and has a beautiful view of the ocean. They have interactive tanks where you can touch sharks plus you can watch eels, octopus, and starfish eat!

I found this place interesting and liked it. Families with children also come here to have a good time and look at the aquarium. The bones of whales are impressive with their size. I have never seen a live whale, but I believe that I will. Behind this center is a very picturesque view of the ocean, I recommend walking along the sidewalk to the lighthouse or even the pier.

Pretty nice staffs but the place is small… Charged $12/each person. We touched swell sharks, sea stars and urchins. Nice place for kids.

Great place to take the family. Even great for just adults, too, if you don't have kids. We got to pet a shark!! The docents are nice and you can learn alot. Beautiful ocean views here and cute dolphins in a tank.

This place was beautiful. My husband and I have taken many different trails thru Santa Cruz, and it was our first time ever riding our bikes thru this trail. It was a really nice area to see.

Nice museum to visit in Santa Cruz. Great for people, especially kids, who want a learning opportunity. There is free parking on the weekends. There are lots of sea creatures. There are starfish you can touch (with the supervision of some knowledgeable volunteers). Just a few hundred feet behind the museum is the coast (the coast is free). There are amazing views of the Santa Cruz coast.

Great place if you're taking someone out or just casually want to learn more about sea life I would highly recommend coming here sadly during the time I was there the petting of the shark was not active since the shark was sleeping but there's always next time will recommend to have a list of questions cause they will get answered here they're pretty knowledgeable

Smaller location with interesting info on the Monterey Bay and life within the ocean and out. Beautiful setting looking over the Bay. Great for younger kids. Chance to pet sharks, crabs and starfish. If you want the extra tickets for the extended tour be sure to be at counter early. We were there for over an hour waiting and when I went to counter they were already gone and clearly given out earlier than they said. Would give 3.5 stars if I could.

A great place for family to visit! Educational & lots of nature activities! A summer party at cafeteria for friends and family will definitely give you a wonderful day!

This place is special. The focus of this place is the amazing nature that surrounds it. We chose to hold our wedding here, Emily and the event coordination team were wonderful to work with and helped reduce the stress around getting married. The venue allows for a lot of flexibility in plans, and we loved that the cost of the venue is put back into the research center. Guests told us they had never been to such a uniquely beautiful setting. The best decision we made, 1000 times over.

Super cute small exhibit. The tour was cool but I wish we could get closer to the seal and dolphins but overall a great experience.

This was the perfect start to Spring Break 2023. Our tour guide Nancy D. had the energy, passion and knowledge. The dolphins were being fed during our tour and they happily engaged the group. I keep trying to determine if my or I had the most fun!?!?! Thank you Seymour Family for making this possible for the community.

Had an amazing time checking out the Seymour marine discovery. Great way to learn about the marine life in the area! Kid friendly hands-on learning. We even were able to touch live starfish. Highly recommend the tour. Our tour guide was awesome , knowledgeable, and answered questions. I also loved that they take care of the marine life they are researching. They give breaks to the sea creatures and don't overwork them. Gotta check this place out!

On vacation from Texas, our original plan was to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but with historic flooding while we were here, highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Monterey was closed. This was a great little place as a backup, the kids got to touch a swell shark, sea stars, urchins and anemones…cool exhibits and very friendly people.

It's a small center, but packed with a lot of interactive exhibits and opportunities to learn about our choices and the impacts on marine life. They currently have a swell shark egg in a tank, some cool touch pools, and other fish in tanks. I highly recommend taking the 30 min tour that's offered as it provided a lot of information.

I thought it was a fun experience. Got to learn about the fish and a few other things. Got to pet a shark. That was cool. I really liked the posters. That made the trip really fun. The awesome and derpy sunfish lol. That was probably the best one

Great staff and volunteers. Good interactive exhibits. A nice collection of ocean creatures. Provided a solid hour of educational entertainment for my kids.

You can see really big skeletons of a blue whale and a gray whale here!