When you walk through the doors of the museum, you embark on a journey of discovery, interacting with exhibits that engage your curiosity around local maritime history and human interactions with the sea. Serving as a hub for Santa Barbara’s coastal heritage, the museum highlights 13,000 years of maritime history – from Chumash culture to today’s surfing and environmental movements. View a map of the museum.
Exhibits On View
SBMM is an interactive museum – a place where individuals of all ages can experience and explore exhibitions such as:
- Point Conception Lighthouse First Order Fresnel Lens
- The Chumash Tomol Plank Canoe
- Whales Are Superheroes!
- Honda Disaster
- Deep Sea Commercial Diving
- Flagship Ranger
- Daughters and Wives: Keepers of the Light
- Rotating Exhibitions - Check Out the Latest on SBMM's Mezzanine Level
- JIM - Deep Sea Dive Suit
- Surfing History
- Tattoo Parlor Interactive
- And more!
Bring Maritime History to Your Community with SBMM's Traveling Exhibits
The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is pleased to provide traveling exhibitions to enhance and support your museum’s community offerings. Six exhibits are available, covering everything from Santa Barbara harbor history to ocean life, and even mermaids.
Gail and Barry Berkus Children's Gallery
During your visit, you can check out the children’s gallery, which provides fun games and activities for the whole family. Explore the kelp forest and learn about the many different species of fish that live among the kelp or raise the sail on a sailboat and learn how block and tackle are used. Try your hand at some arts and crafts, or take a closer look at how sorting your trash helps keep the oceans clean.
A beautiful mural by local artist Patti Jaquemain lines the wall and is a source of great enjoyment for those with an artistic eye. See how many different species of sea life you can identify!
Explore the Harbor
Have a day-long adventure! Conclude your visit by exploring the harbor and the numerous surrounding restaurants, businesses, and water activities.
Unable to visit the museum? Check out this series of virtual tours conducted by SBMM Executive Director Greg Gorga.