Online tickets purchased in advance are currently required for ALL guests, including Santa Barbara Zoo Members. Highlights include: Two trains that circle the perimeter of the Zoo delight visitors of all ages | Hand feeding Masai giraffes | The Kallman Family Play Area, located across from the Zoo Train station, is full of fun stuff for the little ones. Pretend you’re a dinosaur and hide in one of the ‘dinosaur eggs’; be a spider as you crawl across the giant rope web; or, slide or roll down the ant hill, a perennial favorite.
If you like impressionism, check out the Special Exhibition - Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources. This exhibition seeks to immerse viewers in the visual imagination of one of the most beloved artists in the world. Presenting 20 works of art by Van Gogh alongside some 75 objects selected to reflect the surprisingly varied art that he most admired, the show firmly reconnects Vincent to his late 19th-century context. *Advanced ticketing reservations are highly recommended and guarantee your entry time.
Discover the wonders of ocean life at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center. Located on historic Stearns Wharf, this highly interactive regional aquarium offers you close encounters with marine animals from the Santa Barbara Channel like a Two-spot Octopus, Moon Jellies, Giant Pacific Seahorses, a California Moray, and more. Learn about the channel’s unique habitats from rocky reefs to kelp forests and see the animals that live there.
Your favorite dinosaurs are back at the Museum by popular demand! Take a stroll back in time and come face-to-face with dinosaurs on the banks of Mission Creek. Meet a Tyrannosaurus rex, the formidably armored Stegosaurus, high-crested Parasaurolophus, and Triceratops and Euoplocephalus mamas with their young. These hand-crafted moving animatronics spark the imaginations of dinosaur-lovers of all ages
Our three floors are filled with loads of interactive experiences, organized around seven themes that all relate to science, technology, engineering, arts and math. A day spent at MOXI will be different each time you visit - with new things to see, new approaches to take, new challenges to solve and new discoveries to uncover.
Locals and visitors are treated to a recreational experience unlike any other—a replica Chumash village designed with opportunities to run, jump and slide. This experience lends itself to the development of a deeper understanding and appreciation of California’s cultural and natural history. The park, which is designed to emulate pre-European life on the California Channel Islands, includes life-sized replicas of native wildlife species to climb on, Chumash huts to explore, the “Rainbow Bridge” of Chumash lore and the park’s namesake “Tomol”—a traditional Chumash plank boat.
Visitors and locals alike are invited to explore each of the thirty wineries and tasting rooms on the Urban Wine Trail and enjoy some of the finest wines produced in Santa Barbara County, all within blocks of downtown and the beach.