Press Releases

February 29, 2024
On January 12, 2024, the SB Museum of Natural History closed its Chumash Life exhibit to comply with new federal regulations that were released under the Native American Graves Protection Act.
January 16, 2024
The Sea Center on Stearns Wharf is offering free admission to its Underwater Parks Day Festival on Saturday, January 20, 2024 with activities from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
November 29, 2023
Hiroko Benko and Amanda Lee have been appointed to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s Board of Trustees for a three-year term.
July 17, 2023
The Museum’s Gladwin Planetarium now features an Evans & Sutherland Digistar 7 dual-projection system with 4K resolution, a game-changer for the Museum’s guests, educators, and expert presenters.
June 13, 2023
On June 3, 2023 the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History opened the art exhibit Curious by Nature: Works of Charley and Edie Harper (organized by Springfield Museum of Art and Fowler Artistic LLC).
June 6, 2023
Come celebrate World Oceans Day (WOD) at the Sea Center on Stearns Wharf with free admission for all, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM on Saturday, June 10, 2023.
June 5, 2023
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) has coordinated the return of the remains of two ancestral Indigenous Peruvian individuals to the Consulate General of Peru in Los Angeles.
June 1, 2023
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History opened its extremely popular annual summer exhibit Butterflies Alive! on Saturday, May 27.
April 26, 2023
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s 23rd Annual Mission Creek Gala took place Saturday, April 15.
April 20, 2023
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is reopening its permanent mineral exhibit and once more inviting the public to marvel at astonishing rocks and crystals.
March 23, 2023
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will host the region’s premier wine and food event on Saturday, June 24 from 2:00–5:00 PM.
March 6, 2023
Drawn by a Lady: Early Women Illustrators, celebrates the talent of artists and authors in 19th century Victorian England who were disregarded because of their gender.
February 9, 2023
Sales from books, rocks, folk art, and more support Museum collections and research
February 6, 2023
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is pleased to announce three trustees joining the board in 2023, Barbara Evans Kinnear, John Demourkas, and Julie Heider-Gray.
January 23, 2023
Honoring Elisabeth and Greg Fowler, Renee Grubb and Village Properties, and John O’Brien
October 18, 2022
From November 11–April 30, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will exhibit portraits of Native people, landscapes, and culture by the influential ethnographic photographer Edward S. Curtis.
September 27, 2022
Fall/Winter Exhibit Features 300 Years of Owl Illustration
September 19, 2022
On Saturday, October 29, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will transform into a magical circus of spine-tingling surprises for adults 21 and over.
August 11, 2022
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will host a Museum Educator Open House on Monday, August 29, 10:00–11:30 AM for anyone interested in leading school groups on field trips at the Museum.