Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center

06/18/2026

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...a fiberglass model of a Gray Whale?! Throwback to 1985: The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History hired model-builders at Monterey Bay Aquarium to create a life-size Gray Whale mother and calf for the new Sea Center. Mama Bering and baby Baja journeyed down Highway 101 via flatbed truck to Santa Barbara Airport, startling motorists along the way. In an airplane hangar at Santa Barbara Airport, local artist Paul Fairweather painted Bering with markings and scars like those Museum curators observed on real Gray Whales in the region. Barbara Fairweather and Jim Kleeman assisted. Bering was too big to make the final turn to her destination on the shoreward spur of Stearns Wharf. Petroleum Helicopters gave her a lift, shocking many locals who thought she was the real thing. Bering was backed into the Sea Center and the building was finished around her. “It was a little like building a ship in a bottle,” wrote Curator of Exhibits Ruth Gebel. Over 40 years later, kids who marveled at the flying whale now bring their own kids to enjoy Bering and Baja at the Sea Center. Photos by Bill Dewey and David Collier, courtesy Gary Robinson and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Archives.

06/12/2026

We are so proud of Sea Center Volunteer Aria for writing this article about the endangered Vaquita. At 11 years old, she is currently our youngest volunteer. (Volunteers 11–13 interpret alongside a parent or guardian.) Aria is always asking good questions. You can tell she has a genuine passion for marine life and a drive to understand all she can about it. In the short time she has been here, she has made a real impact on our staff. It’s heartwarming to us to see someone so young care so much about the causes that motivate us as adults.

Vaquitas are a type of small porpoise, and they are the most endangered animal in the world, at less than 10 left.

06/10/2026

Thank you to everyone who celebrated World Oceans Day with us at the Sea Center! Admission was free thanks to UCSB's Moeller Lab. 🙏 We can’t wait to welcome Sunflower Star Laboratory back soon, with two stars in tow. 🤩 Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Surfrider Santa Barbara, Cultured Abalone, CSULB Shark Lab, SBC LTER, MCR LTER, The Nature Conservancy California, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, CICRU - Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit, UCSB's Volland Lab, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and UCSB MSI / UCSB REEF, thank you for sharing your time, expertise, and love for the ocean with our 2,000 guests. Thank you to the Stearns Wharf merchants for your donations and partnership, particularly Celebration Cruises for leading the charge. Props to the volunteers and staff who made everything flow, to organizers Ally Aplin and Audrey Engelsgjerd for masterminding the extravaganza, and to Toothy the Shark for just being there.

05/26/2026

Saturday, June 6, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM. enjoy free admission to the Sea Center on Stearns Wharf thanks to UCSB's Moeller Lab! We’re celebrating World Oceans Day - Free Admission at the Sea Center, offering fun opportunities to meet animals from the Santa Barbara Channel and learn about local ecosystems. Come meet an array of community partners dedicated to ocean conservation and celebration, including NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Surfrider Santa Barbara, Cultured Abalone, Sunflower Star Laboratory, CSULB Shark Lab, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, CICRU - Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit, and Celebration Cruises - Santa Barbara. More details at https://www.sbnature.org/visit/calendar/9131/world-oceans-day-free-admission-at-the-sea-center
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05/15/2026

We love how iNaturalist.org helps us record and share the mind-blowing wildlife observations made every day from the Wet Deck at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center on Stearns Wharf! 🐌 🔬 Come visit us to meet some of these wild neighbors in person. We'll gladly share tips on contributing to community science by using iNaturalist, too.
🌟 🌟 Starring Naturalist and Volunteer Manager Dylan Otte and a special guest character we like to call Travis in a Hat 🌟🌟
📸 Photos/featured observations by Kennedy Rivera, Joaquin Bailey-Musacchio, Dylan Otte, and Saul Lopez-Villalta

05/07/2026

So happy to see this malnourished sea lion pup is now healthy and released. The pup showed up on the wharf platform under the Sea Center several months ago. Our staff helped Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) with access and safely hoisting the pup up from the platform. Great to see her doing well and back in the wild. Thank you CIMWI!

05/02/2026

It's time for a PSA about PSP—paralytic shellfish poisoning! There's an annual quarantine on public harvesting of mussels from May 1 through October 31 on the California coast, to guard against illness and death from toxins that accumulate in mussels. This page has a great FAQ to educate yourself on what's safe to eat, when, and why: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DRSEM/Pages/EMB/Shellfish/Annual-Mussel-Quarantine.aspx

04/30/2026

In 1983, El Niño scoured the seabed off the Central Coast, displacing rocks that previously anchored Giant Kelp. Human-made barriers in the watershed have prevented new rocks from reaching the coast, depriving our seabed of materials kelp needs to grow. Join us for Science Pub at Dargan's Irish Pub & Restaurant to learn from Chris Goldblatt, founder of the Fish Reef Project, about the success of the 16 one-ton Sea Cave® reef units his team has deployed off Goleta! On Monday, May 11, 6:30–8:00 PM, Goldblatt will explain how these artificial reefs were designed to be ideal for kelp, fish, and marine invertebrates, and how they are helping rebuild our historic kelp forests in a time of crisis. Learn about research findings connected to the restoration, and the Fish Reef Project’s plans to expand. No tickets or reservations needed, but note that Science Pub is a popular program. Early birds get good seats. More details at https://www.sbnature.org/visit/calendar/9134/science-pub-restoring-coastal-kelp-forests Photos by Chris Goldblatt, Chris Sainvil, Patrick Wayand and Malakai Isaacs

04/24/2026

“Our exhibit interpreter volunteers are the heart and soul of the Sea Center. Each day, they help create meaningful connections between our guests and the incredible marine life of the Santa Barbara Channel. Whether they’re discovering critters on the Wet Deck or sharing the vital role sharks play in our ecosystem, our interpreters make every visit engaging and memorable for guests of all ages. Through these moments, they’re helping inspire the next generation of ocean stewards. We are deeply grateful for our volunteer interpreters—the impact we make wouldn’t be possible without them.” Sea Center Volunteer Manager Dylan Otte speaking from the heart here for . Find out how to join this amazing group of volunteers at sbnature.org/volunteer

04/22/2026

“Nearly once a month, community members join the Sea Center for a beach cleanup at East Beach near the Mission Creek outlet—an important spot where trash and debris carried downstream are just moments from entering the ocean. Last year, 246 volunteers removed over 770 pounds of waste that would have otherwise ended up in our marine environment. A huge thank you to all of the ocean stewards who continue to show up and be part of the solution to marine pollution. Your impact truly makes a difference!” Sea Center Volunteer Manager Dylan Otte speaking from the heart here for . Find out how to join this amazing group of volunteers at sbnature.org/volunteer