Loved the museum! It is not crowded and discovering different areas everywhere was part of the fun. You will enjoy learning about nature, the planet, dinosaurs, metals, birds, mammals, and will also have a chance to explore the back of the museum where you can find real animals. It was fun; it was interactive in some parts. Don't miss the infrared light tattoo fun and the chance to see how metals react to light. The people there are so eager to show you more as you explore the museum. Fun! 📸🤗

Not just for kids! So cool. Observatory has amazing telescopes. During the day we saw solar flares and sun spots live on actual sun. Expert guide inside observatory explained so well even I understood. He even shared fragments from asteroids that have hit earth. Amazing colors and shapes in the rocks and minerals room blew my mind. Butterfly pavilion has stunning array including brilliant ones from Costa Rica. This is a top site in SB

A very friendly place, the employee are so nice.tje place really clean. My kids has a blast watching the dinosaurs, the birds and the butterfly. Great place to take the kids.

As a Santa Barbara local that has been visiting this place before I could walk, the Natural History Museum has always had a sense of magic about it. I love that I get to share this with my son. I can spend the entire day wandering the museum! This is definitely a local treasure.

Our visit here was amazing! The exhibits were displayed beautifully, with so much to learn about the natural wonders of the world and the history of how they came together to become beautiful Santa Barbara. Their Butterfly exhibit was incredible! As we walked through the garden filled with different colored butterflies perched and flying around everywhere, one landed on my shoulder, it was so cool! We had a truly amazing experience!

It doesn’t look like a big one from outside but has a wealth of knowledge and interesting exhibits inside! You have good parking on premises. Just carry a water bottle. Planetarium show was interesting. It was so good to hear about the rescue operations of some birds here. Learnt some good facts about native culture and history. Kids were excited to see the interesting prehistoric forest. We can learn a little about archeology, astronomy, geography, paleontology, marine biology, gemology and zoology and what not all in one place. Highly recommend it if you have young kids or encyclopedia fans.

Great for a family outing. Beautiful butterfly exhibit, planetarium, dinosaur in their own habitat exhibit, many other buildings that show California's beautiful animals and wildlife, and a building dedicated to show the beauty of minerals. You can't go wrong visiting this place. Plan on being there a few hours as you will want to see it all.

What a lovely museum!! It truly has something for everyone! Fun activities for kids and halls on all different categories! And it's on a beautiful grounds! The staff were all friendly and helpful and the whole place was very clean and well kept. Highly recommend!

Great activity for our 3 year old. He loved the huge animatronic dinosaurs on exhibit, the rocks n gems room and walking through the butterfly enclosure. Definitely recommend for anyone in SB visiting or locals (like me) who haven't been there in 10+ years.

This natural museum was highly anticipated by my family for their motioned dinosaurs and it didn’t disappoint. However, I would have expected for it to have been more of a dinosaur variety. But on the plus size we loved the butterfly exposition. A first time experience and we loved it.

I came here to study about the lone women of San Nicolas Island. And how did she serve and help our world 🌎. Well, this museum is a must. It's great for kids to learn and have a little fun

The new exhibits of Dinosaurs, Butterflies, and Rocks & Minerals are quite nice. I just feel as though the Science/Space exhibit needs a bit more to it, as a few technologies are shut off in that room. I would also recommend better signage and flow through for all the exhibits. Prior doorways have been blocked off, and as guests we do a lot of double backing on exhibits and hallways. We were also not offered a map at the ticket office, and I think we missed the Backyard and Observatory completely.

What a cute museum. On the smaller side but don't be fooled we spent 3 to 4 hours there. The exhibits are big enough and with plenty of information to not feel overwhelmed. The items at the store are also affordable. Next time we are thinking of having a picnic here as there is plenty of seating inside bu the beautiful trees or creek. There is a section in the museum where kids can race little boats down a small section with water. The employee at the front desk was also very friendly and welcoming. Will definitely be going back.

Nice museum with exhibits on local geography, wildlife, native artifacts, fossils & mineral. Nice outdoor area's with animatronic dinosaur walk and picnic tables. Also has seasonal butterfly garden.

This museum has been on my list since I am a big Chumash adventurer. It is a 2.5 drive and I tried to go before but covid closed it the next day. Finally made it. Enjoyed it very well. The Chumash hall was very good. Has a good collection of local artifacts. From the islands to mainland and to the back country. The descriptions are pretty good. John Johnson Maximus picks were good as well. They even have the pictograph rock found in a farmers field. Was well worth it and bought a membership so I can bring back the family for the other collections. I recommend this museum.

So fun for the whole family! We did the museum in the afternoon and the Star Party after dark and had a fabulous day. The creek in the back was a favorite as well as the birds.

So cute. Well done, all the little rooms. Crystals are pretty. People are welcoming. The Dinosaur garden was very cool. Architecture was gorgeous. Sea creatures are were creepy real. The giant eagle skeleton was amazing!

Kids love the Dino's The butterflies section is closed till 2024, but you can see them from the outside of the net. Lovely area to stop and have a snack too. Planetarium show start at 1pm in the week, plan accordingly.

This miseum though small, is very well designed. They have lots of excellent dioramas, and there are things to touch, and some displays are also lower down for easier viewing by children. We were too late for the butterfly encounter, though we were able to view it from the outside. They also have an area populated by mechanical dinosaurs. Excellent place to take your kids.

Beautiful place, my favorite it was the butterfly place, absolutely beautiful. I love dinosaurs, too. Lost of history .

This is a wonderful museum. Half of the w hi it’s are outside and half are inside. It has a planetarium (find out at what time the shows take place and get tickets in advance as they sell out), a butterfly exhibit (outdoors), a prehistoric forest (outdoors) a mammal exhibit and others. The prehistoric forest is for a younger crowd but the rest are for all ages. It has a nice shaded picnic area in the prehistoric forest. The one place where we had to wait was for the butterfly exhibit but it was well worth it. The bathrooms are accesible and clean. I did not see a restaurant. They do have a small gift shop. There is one at of free parking. We saw the whole thing in about two and a half hours, but then again we only stopped at the things that really called our attention.

As a mother of a toddler and soon to be newborn, this has to be our favorite family friendly museum in town. From dinosaurs to butterflies, native California wildlife to endemic species only found on the Chanel islands, this place has something for everyone! The planetarium, telescope (open on Saturday’s) and impressive crystal museum have recently reopened as well. You can find predator birds that otherwise would not survive in the wild in captivity here, outdoor trails and a wonderful sensory table for kids to explore. My daughter never gets tired of visiting this museum and it has proven to be a wonderful add-on to her weekly educational excursions. If you’re a local, a recent transplant, or in town for an extended period of time with little ones, do yourself a favor and purchase their annual membership. You’ll be glad you did as it also grants access to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center located on Stearn’s Wharf.

It was really nice to experience the butterfly exhibit. The day I was there they had closed several exhibits for private groups and the other exhibits wouldn't let us in because they were closing in half a hour. So we missed out on several. They close at 5pm, so you should arrive at 3pm at the latest if you want to see everything.

Small, well-done museum. The butterflies are INCREDIBLE. Had to go back a second time.