santa barbara maritime museum

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is a fantastic way to spend some time in the Santa Barbara Harbor. It's a great, hands on museum where little kids don't have to keep their hands in their pockets. The museum covers the Santa Barbara maritime history from the Native Americans (The Chumash tribe) all the way to recent history. There is something for everybody! Make certain you don't miss a visit to the 4th floor, it's the best view in town!

....and watch for really great surfing and ocean related documentaries in the museum ampitheatre....then stroll the marina hopefully the tide is out or you WILL GET SOAKED out on the jetty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The museum is located on the Harbor, a very beautiful area to walk along. We didn't expect to spend so much time there, but the exhibits are fascinating and well presented. The roof top view of Santa Barbara is not to be missed.

Came here expecting to find a couple of ship models and a few odds-and-ends. Instead we were treated to a hugely informative two-story museum with a number of impressive models, interactive elements to help keep the kids' attention, numerous interesting displays with great graphics and information, and a nice theater showing free related videos. They even had a great scavenger hunt for the kids that helped get the kids to read through many of the exhibits and a nice little prize for them when they returned the completed hunt worksheet.

This is the best little museum, with a broad range of exhibits about Chumash Indian life, marine life, nautical history, geology, some great children's activities too.

Great place to visit! The stuff was friendly and helpful. Even more, out visit was turned into game, because our daughter got questions to answer to get a prize from the treasure chest.It also has the best view of the harbor if you take elevator and go up to enjoy the view.

The ocean clearly plays a key role in Santa Barbara's culture, present and past. This museum really was a great stop to gain a better understanding of that. While it's small, they have everything you need and manage to keep it engaging.

It was a great place to hang out for a while. It was very informative concerning underwater equipment advances, ships and history of ships in the Santa Barbara area.

Near the end of our stay we were looking for one more thing to do. This Museum fit the bill! We enjoyed the displays on scuba diving as well as the new lighthouse display. The staff has very helpful. The exhibits helped us understand Santa Barbara. Glad we stopped by!

Just visited this museum for the first time; didn't even really know it existed. What a gem it is! So many interesting exhibits that are clean and up to date. You'll learn a lot about Santa Barbara and the surrounding area. I didn't realize how many shipwrecks were located off shore!. And, you simply must try the deep sea fishing experience!

This was informational and they made it fun for my seven year old. They gave her a project to do during the museum trip, and then she got a prize at the end. Lovely staff and very nice museum.

Right on the water, this place is a really good museum. Be sure to check it out, especially the ship wreck and lighthouse portions. I recommend it!

Went in on our walk around the harbor area. Pretty small and see it in an hour. Provides good review of Santa Barbara maritime history and has nice exhibits.

My husband and I adored the Maritime Museum in which, we spent about three hours enjoying all the history. We'd love to visit once again in the future and the pier in Santa Barbara is gorgeous. Yes, this area is one of the most expensive cities in the United States, but its so worth spending a day or two driving around and seeing all the glorious attractions.

We ate at Brophy Brothers, and saw the museum. We really enjoyed the history, the movies, the stories of the native Americans and lighthouse pieces. A great way to learn history and have fun, too!