The mission of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is to preserve and celebrate the maritime heritage of the California Coast and present it to the public in an interesting and exciting way.

Description:
The 7,825 square-foot Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, located at the Santa Barbara Harbor, opened to the public in July 2000. Today, the museum is a vital part of the community, offering educational programs, interactive displays, and both temporary and permanent exhibits, attracting thousands of visitors each year. New exhibits include Survival at Sea and Diving Helmets of America’s West Coast. Children’s favorites include the interactive pilot house, part of Survival at Sea, which allows you to virtually steer a vessel into the Santa Barbara Harbor, and the Sport Fishing Exhibit that lets children land “the big one.”

To date, more than 47,681 children from 129 area schools have participated in the Maritime Museum’s educational programs.

Volunteers enrich our Museum with their enthusiasm, knowledge and dedication. They provide visitors with meaningful and engaging information about the Museum's collections. Our volunteers share their time, experience, expertise, and love of the sea. We could not carry out our mission to educate the public about the Central Coast's unique maritime history without them.

History:
Located in the Santa Barbara Waterfront Center, the museum's structure was formerly known as the Old Naval Reserve Center, which was built by the Federal Government's Works Project Administration (WPA) program during the late 1930s through early 1940s. In 1942, the City of Santa Barbara sold the Naval Reserve Center for $1 to the Federal Government to support the war effort.

The facility was used as a U.S. Navy training facility from 1942 until 1995, when the U.S. Navy moved out of the building. It was sold back to the City of Santa Barbara and in 1999, construction began inside the building for the new Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.

The museum is open everyday (except Wednesdays and major holidays) from 10 am-6 pm(Memorial Day to Labor Day) otherwise it's 10 am-5 pm.

Contact person: Abbey Chamberlain, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (805) 962-7634

Address:

113 Harbor Way, Suite 190 Santa Barbara, CA 93109 (See a map)

Directions:

To reach the Museum from the SOUTH: Take California coastal state highway 101 north to Santa Barbara. Exit at the Cabrillo Blvd. turnoff (left-hand lane exit). At the stop sign at the bottom of the ramp, turn left. Continue along. . . (more)   Nearest Bus Stop: Downtown Shuttle / Harbor Stop, 0 minute walk