Santa Barbara Sea Center

** Updated July 2021** The museum requires masks and is a one way only format, but is open regular hours!

The Sea Center is a fun, little museum on the wharf. The bottom floor has touch tanks with sea urchins, sea stars, sharks and sea slugs. There is a sea deck where a bucket is lowered into the ocean and children can sift through the contents to look at them under the microscope. Side exhibits include how a water shed works, shark development, and wave tank. The upstairs has a movie theater, dark room with jellies and other creatures, reading corner, whale exhibit, puppet theater and sustainable seafood exhibit (there is often another changing exhibit too). The museum is small but it is a fun hour especially if you have a museum membership.

Favorites: Puppet Theater (5 year old), dark room with jellies (8 year old) and touch tanks (all)

Hours: 10am-5pm daily except Thanksgiving Christmas and New Year's eve/day. 
Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Price: Adults $9/Kids $7
Membership: Start at $99 for a basic family membership (includes the Natural History Museum)
Parking: Park is free for 90 minutes on the wharf. It is $2.50 an hour after that.
Location: The museum is located on the Santa Barbra pier.
More Information: https://www.sbnature.org/visit/sea-center/
Nearby: Maritime Museum, Los Baños Park and Pool,

Special Events: Free Sundays through the school year, World Ocean Day (June), Mermaid and Buccaneer Day (August)

Tunnel to "see in" the ocean

Touch Tank!

Touch Tank 2

Shark Development 

Wave Tank

Sifting through sea sludge

Watershed

Jellies

"Walking through" jellies

Whale Exhibit

Puppet Theater 

Sustainable Sea Food

Movie Theater

Pool Options for Santa Barbara

On a hot day, we all want water to cool down. These are the options I found when I researched it. I only included options where kids can be included. I should mention that I do not know the conditions of any of these locations when you are going and cannot be held responsible for any problems.

Free and Low Cost Water Options
1. Beaches: Our beaches are free and, while not the best option for very little kids, are great for older kids. Our favorites include Goleta Beach, Leadbetter and Carpinteria Beach.

2. Los Baños del Mar Pool 401 Shoreline Dr, Santa Barbara 

Recreational swim times begin June 17, 2024. Hours are Monday through Friday, 2:15 - 3:45 p.m. Cost $10. The use of floaties is not allowed. 

3. Oak Park Wading Pool 300 West Alamar Ave, Santa Barbara
Recreational swim times are June 17-August 18, 2019. Hours are Monday through Sunday, 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. Note: at busy times, children stand in line to wait for availability. For ages 7 and under.

4. Ortega Pool 600 North Salsipuedes Street, Santa Barbara
Recreational swim times are June 22-August 15, 2024. Hours are Monday through Friday, 12:30 - 2:00p.m. Saturday  12-5pm. Ages 13 and under. Must be with a parent. 

5. Red Rock is a great spot for older kids.

We hear there may be a splash pad coming to the Jonny B Wallis Park!  

Note: Lake Cachuma, our closest local lake, is a no-contact lake with no swimming allowed. Thee pool there is under construction, 

One Day Paid 

Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club 5800 Cathedral Oaks Rd $50 Day Pass

Bacara  8301 Hollister Ave  $90 adults /$50 kids

Hilton SB, 633 E Cabrillo Blvd $55 adult/$25 kids

Kimpton Canary Hotel 31 W Carrillo S $45 

Mar Monte Hotel 1111 E Cabrillo Blvd $45 adults? $20 kids

Miramar 1759 S Jameson Ln $125 adults/ $65 kids

Moxy SB 12 E Montecito St. $30 adults/$15 kids 

San Remy Courtyard 1601 State St, $30 adults/ $10 Kids

The Steward 5490 Hollister Ave  $20 adults/ $15 kids

UCSB Rec Center has a daily pass for 2019 price $15/$8 children. Kids must be potty trained and many other activities may be going on. (Also you must pay for Parking in lot 16/18).

YMCA 36 Hitchcock Way, Santa Barbara has day passes. Pricing 2019 $10 per person of you come with a member or $20 as a guest without a member

Membership Options

Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club 5800 Cathedral Oaks Rd

Cost: Estimated $230-$300/month for a family of 4.

Los Carneros Swim Club 6495 Covington Way, Goleta

Cost: $425/year per family in 2019 The pool is open March through October. There is long wait list for those who are not in the neighborhood and the waitlist is currently closed.

UCSB Rec Center has a membership option that begins at $60/person a month for 1 or 3 month passes. Kids must be potty trained and many other activities may be going on. (Also you must pay for Parking in lot 16/18).

YMCA 36 Hitchcock Way, Santa Barbara has a family membership option of $105/month.

Out of Town Options 

Include: Lake Casitas Water Park, Splash Pad at the Collection, Lompoc Aquatic Center

Santa Maria Discovery Museum

The Santa Maria Discovery Museum is a kid's museum. Space exhibits include a space shuttle you can "drive", a climbing wall and a launch panel.  There are western themed and fire fighter themed dress up. The kitchen provides a place to "make food." The catching air exhibits sends yarn balls through (like the MOXI). A produce truck has a slide. There is a tree house reading area as well as a creation space with art supplies, Legos and more.  Water themed exhibits include a boat you can climb on and a shipwreck. A money station has play money to handle and a bank teller area. A camp fire/ranch area has a bull to ride, a campfire and branding logos. Other highlight were a piano to play when stepping on the keys, a word wall to make silly sentences, planting station, fishing station, tractor to climb, and simple machines to move. A tot area is there for the very littlest kids. Depending on the how the exhibits change, this might be better for the 6 and under crowd.

Favorites: display on the types of poop splatter (8 year old), kitchen area and dress up (5 year old), and climbing wall (all)

Hours: 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday 12pm-4pm, closed Monday
Time: 1 hour to 90 minutes
Price: Adults $6/Kids $6 (50% off if you have a MOXI membership)
Membership:$100 a year for a basic family membership
Parking: There is a free lot next to the museum.
Location: The museum is located in Santa Maria off the Stowell Rd/exit 170 (about 1 hour drive).
More Info: https://smvdiscoverymuseum.org/
Nearby: Waller Park 

Special Events: Farm to Table event in September, calendar of events

Simple Machines

Launch Station

Climbing Wall

Lego Fun

Bank and Money Station

Fire fighting

Fishing 

Kitchen area

Campfire/Cowboy&girl space

Tractor

Maker space

Arts and crafts station

Boating

Microscope

Shipwreck

Catching air

Money

Bank teller

Tot space

Tar pits digging

Kitchen space

Branding logos

Planting Station

Barn Music

Poop and Splatter Exhibit

Combining colors

Patriotic Events 2019

Santa Barbara and Goleta Events

* 4th of July Parade on State Street between Micheltorena Street and Cota Street Free 1pm 

* Elks Lodge of Santa Barbara  Family Fun Fair 11-5 Free Admission 

(Crafts, dime toss, bounce house, rollerball game, and more)

* Girsh Park Fireworks Festival 5pm-9pm $10 entry (kids under 13 free) 

(Concerts, fireworks, and games including water balloon toss, hula hoop contest and sack races)

* Goleta Valley Historical Society at Stow House 11am-4pm $7 entry (kid under 13 free) (Concerts and tours, $5 Kids Fun Pass includes hay rides, face painting, and games)

* Sunken Gardens Concert 5pm Free

* West Beach and the Santa Barbara Waterfront 11am-9pm Free admission, activities may cost

(live music, face painting,  water taxi ride, Sea Center, crafts and food for sale) 

Fireworks

Fireworks take place at the festivals but can viewed in the surrounding neighborhoods

9pm Santa Barbara at West Beach 

9pm Goleta at Girsh Park 

9pm Solvang at Mission Santa Ynez

Other Events Nearby

* Carpinteria Lions Club hosts and Independence Day BBQ 1-4pm.

* Montecito Association hosts events including a pancake breakfast at Firehouse #1 (7:30), parade (11:30 Manning Park) and festival (12:30-2 Manning Park) 

* Solvang Events include a concert (10am Solvang Park), parade (11am), BBQ ($5-7, Solvang Park 12-2) and festival (2pm-9:30pm, Mission Santa Ynez, $10 Entry, kids under 8 free)

South Coast Railway Museum

COVID Update: June 2021

The South Coast Railway Museum is a small museum with an old train car kids can climb through, several depot rooms set up as they would have functioned 100 years ago and a room full of model trains. The building is the original Goleta Train depot built in 1901 and moved to its current location in 1981. There is a small train that gives rides for about 10 people every 15 minutes (or sometimes more often) with the last ride at 3:45. Stay around 4pm to watch the trains put away into their garage (involving disassembly using ropes and pulleys). There is a small picnic area that can be reserved for birthdays.

Favorites: train rides for all (but especially when they were 5 and under)
Hours: 1-4pm Saturday-Sunday, closed Monday-Friday
Time: 30-45 minutes
Price: The museum is free/donation based. The small train rides cost $2.50.
Membership:$25 a year
Parking: There is a small lot of free parking that is enough parking for most days. 
Location: Next to the Stow House on Los Carneros Rd in Goleta.
More Info: http://scrm.goletadepot.org/
Nearby: Stow House, Lake Los Carneros and Stow Grove Park
Special Events: Events Page: Candy Cane Train in December, Easter Bunny Express on Easter weekend, Depot Days second weekend in August

Goleta Depot Building

Entrance

Old Railway Car (Outside)

Old Railway Car (inside)

Old Railway Car (inside)

Model Trains 

Small Ride on Train

Train holds about 10.

Ticket Counter

Book Corner in the old waiting room

Station with memorabilia

Pocket Library designed like the Depot