We have been coming here for years. Our kids LOVE the Moxi!…read more Especially our son who is a big STEAM kid. My only complaint is the water section on top floor, that exhibit in particular seems like it needs some maintenance. Some oil added or something like that as it is very hard to push the levers. Also some additional shade up there would be nice! It is super bright and VERY sunny (almost blinding with the white paint)! Highly recommend people bring sunglasses up there. It's nice because it is a very spacious museum that offers a lot. Often it is very clean too!

Fun, hands-on museum in Santa Barbara, but I think it's better suited for school-aged kids than…read moretoddlers and preschoolers. We visited MOXI with our 4-year-old and under-2-year-old. The kids had fun exploring, but I personally found it a little underwhelming for their ages, especially considering the price. There are definitely some great interactive and creative spaces, but I think older kids would get much more out of the experience. One thing that was pretty disappointing was finding out after we arrived that the entire third floor was closed for a private event. We had driven about 70 miles to get there, so it would've been nice to know ahead of time, especially since admission wasn't exactly cheap. Parking was also a little confusing, although there is some street parking and public parking around downtown Santa Barbara and the transit area. There were definitely some highlights. They have a craft/building area where staff were helping kids with projects and doing little workshops. The current theme was marble runs, but kids could also draw, color, build, and make whatever they wanted. Staff were really hands-on and supervised things like glue guns and scissors, which I appreciated. I can see this being a really fun and worthwhile area for older kids who are creative and enjoy building and STEM-type activities. For younger kids, there is a small crawl/play area on the second floor, plus a quiet "cave" or calm room where kids can take a break if they get overstimulated. I thought those were nice additions, especially for families with toddlers or sensory-sensitive kids. We went on a Monday and it wasn't very busy, which made for a pretty relaxed visit. I could see the experience being much better for our family in a few years, so I wouldn't completely rule out coming back when the kids are older. If your kids are school-aged and enjoy interactive, hands-on learning, building, and STEM activities, I'd definitely say it's worth checking out. For younger toddlers/preschoolers, though, I would temper expectations--the admission price felt a little high for what we were able to do. One thing that could make it a much better value is the ASTC Travel Passport Program. MOXI participates in the program, which can provide free general admission at participating science and technology museums around the world if you have a qualifying membership. There is a 90-mile restriction, though--the museum you're visiting generally needs to be more than 90 miles away, measured "as the crow flies," from both your residence and the museum where you have your active membership. Overall, a nice museum with some genuinely fun interactive spaces. I'd recommend it at least once, but for our family, I think we'll wait until the kids are a little older before making the trip again.

The staff are the best! Always very helpful, and incredibly intelligent. They certainly know their…read morestuff. It's not a huge aquarium, but you can learn a lot and view a variety of sea life creatures in a small space. Great for adults and children. Always excited to go back!

Went to Santa Barbara for a bachelorette weekend and of course walked Stearns Wharf after brunch…read more Super cool that you can drive onto the pier, with lots of little shops and restaurants. We stopped at the aquarium, and regular tickets felt pretty pricey for how small it is, but thankfully CalFresh/WIC tickets are only $5. We spent about 20-30 minutes inside, mostly touching the sharks and starfish, which was honestly my favorite part even as an adult! If you were to take your time, maybe you could spend an hour in The older gentleman at the ticket counter was also super friendly. Cute little experience with a great view right on the pier!

This has to be one of our favorite places to visit in Santa Barbara. I've personally been coming…read morehere for over 25 years, and I still love it every time. It's peaceful, relaxing, and the nature is absolutely beautiful -- minus all the poison oak during the summer, LOL! Whether you have little ones, teenagers, or just want to take a relaxing walk with your partner, this is a great place to visit. You don't need to spend the whole day here either. A couple of hours is perfect to walk around, enjoy the scenery, and unwind. Definitely one of our Santa Barbara favorites. Highly recommend!

What a fun little add on to a trip with kiddos to Santa Barbara. Enough places for learning but…read morealso for the kiddos to get some play in the day as well. I have a 4.5 yo and 22 month old and they both had lots of fun. Random but I do wish the gift shop was a bit more stroller friendly.

My husband, 3-year-old granddaughter and I really enjoyed this museum. There is something of…read moreinterest to all ages. We adults learned so much about Santa Barbara's maritime history from very well presented exhibits and really enjoyed the interactive experiences like the simulated deep-sea fishing. We were there for two hours and had to practically drag our granddaughter out when they closed. She really enjoyed the activities in the Children's Gallery, especially fishing and exploring the kelp. However, even at her young age she learned a lot from the exhibits. We can't wait to go back!

Very underrated museum, in my opinion. We used a Groupon and paid $10 for two adult tickets, but…read moreeven at full price ($12 for adults, $6 for kids ages 6-17, and free for 5 and under), it would still be worth it. The museum is really beautiful and interactive, with a few activities that are great for little kids, and it takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to go through. I learned a lot about Santa Barbara's history, and my 5-year-old really enjoyed it. The virtual fishing experience was especially fun and actually feels like you're trying to catch a real fish. The harbor views from the 4th floor are amazing too, and that area is free to the public. Parking is free for 90 minutes, but depending on the time of day, you may need a little patience to find a spot since it can get crowded. Staff and volunteers were also very friendly and welcoming.

Very friendly and helpful staff guided us and pointed out many interesting things. We ate really…read moreglad we visited! We highly recommend this great resource that is important to our History!

We just visited for a wedding over the weekend. Honestly the animals don't look well taken care of…read more Camels are in a very small place and look really skinny.

Amazing Amazing!!…read more You would never have guessed how many dolls , how many stories and how much history are packed into this small gem! Whether you're a toy fan, movie fan, or just interested in general American pop culture, this place has something for you! Check out their Exquisite collection of beautiful handmade dolls! The details will blow you away! Note: the hours on Yelp seemed incorrect at the time of this writing- there's a side in front of the building that says they're only open Friday and Saturday. But there is an email and a phone number that you can use to contact the owner.

We had an absolutely fabulous time. Everything is displayed with loving care and incredible…read moreattention to detail. There are toys from our childhood, dolls and bears representing historical and fictional figures, tributes to California history, etc, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are lots of commercially produced dolls and bears, but then there are also plenty of unique, artist-created pieces. If you are planning a trip to Santa Barbara, you should definitely reach out to them and schedule a tour! It's very affordable, and I think adults and children of all ages would be charmed by it.

This review is only for the restaurant, I can't speak to the hotel as we did not stay there. This…read morerestaurant is perfectly located next to the children's museum, and across from an amazing ice cream spot. The service was great! They were very attentive, they helped me adjust a few dishes to be more vegetarian friendly, and the outdoor seating made for a very Santa Barbara experience. The food was full of flavor, and the portions were just right. Looking forward to our next visit!

Pros: 1) Great Lobby that comes with great seating, free…read morecoffee and tea a mini bar that you can to purchase wine and snacks. 2) dog friendly 3) Mexican restaurant that's connected to hotel 4) We had a nice patio that we did use. 5) Valet Cons: Where do I begin? 1) The hallway to your room has flooring that is linoleum so the hallway echoes, which means that you will hear people running up and down the hallways, talking loudly everything vibrates and echoes because the flooring isn't carpet and the walls are very thin. If they're wearing heels, you can hear that from a mile away. 2) The rooms are teeny tiny 3) Our room had two I want to say double beds, but I feel like the beds are somewhere in between a twin size bed and a double bed very small bed. They advertise online that their queen size beds. There was only a foot in between each bed. It is hard to walk in between each bed, especially if two of you are standing trying to go to your beds at the same time. 3) Two of us shared a room and there wasn't a whole lot of room to move around. If one of us was moving around the other one had to stay on the bed. I felt like I was camping in a tent, not even a cabin. 4) The bathroom (WORST PART) was EXTRA small. The door to the bathroom wasn't even a real door. It was a door that was frosted, so you could partially see through it, especially because it wouldn't lock or shut. You could hear the person using the restroom very clearly There was only one mirror in the room and that was in the bathroom. It was a small mirror over the small sink. The sink had barely any room for us to put our toiletry items on there. And there was no else to put our toiletry items, so we had to keep our items in the toiletry bag the whole time. The shower was extremely small. It was a shower that was a standup shower that would've been great for a disabled person with a wheelchair because it was one of those that you could wheel into. There was no tub for instance that had like a tub wall on each side of the shower head. The shower had one door to protect the toilet because the shower was facing the toilet, and a curtain that didn't go all the way to the ground on the other side. What that means is water went all over the ground of the bathroom and we were basically standing in a puddle of water. we had to use our towels on the floor to soak up the water when we were getting ready for our event. The toilet was also very small and had trouble flushing. We also had NO HOT WATER WHEN WE WERE THERE! Upon checking out, we did not get any discount for that. They were supposed to send a maintenance person and that maintenance person never showed up to fix it. 5) There was also no microwave, but there was a teeny tiny refrigerator that barely worked. 6) Barely any place to hang your clothes. Two drawers to put your clothes in and one drawer, where the nightstand was so again we had to keep things in our luggage. 7) There were a total of two outlets that we could use to either charge our items or plug-in something that we needed. 8) As well as, for Santa Barbara we were expecting hotels to be expensive, and we understood that this place was going to be expensive as well. But this place was completely overpriced for what we received. We will never be back.

I'm a huge history nerd, so I loved this place. The person who helped and checked us in was truly…read moreknowledgeable and had a PHD in history. I could truly feel that when he was giving historical facts about the Presidio. I truly enjoyed walking around this piece of history. They do have a building that has original tile (from 1812 after an earth quake that destroyed another room on the presidio). I recommend anyone studying California history to visit and walk around a piece of our states history!

Fort Order State…read moreHistorical site located in Downtown Santa Barbara that preserves the last Spanish military fortress built in California. The Good: * Free street parking and lot parking. So that shouldn't be an issue unless there happens to be a special event that day/weekend. * Free admission if you signed up for the state's Historian Passport this past spring. Otherwise, it's a mere $5/adult (free for kids 16 and under). * Lots of cool old historic relics, as well as the second oldest building in CA. The Meh: * It was undergoing some construction work at the time of our visit, so the place was a bit of a mess with construction supplies. The Ugly: * There was some kind of, uh, "garden" that was, uhhh, yeah... I'll just blame the construction. 0_o Conclusion: Great place to visit if you like history and/or are looking for some time to kill before checking into your hotel. Otherwise, not really a destination-worthy location.

What a great hidden gem of a museum! Family and I stumbled here by accident because my son needed…read moreto find a restroom after shopping at Warbler Records across the street. It's somewhat off the beaten path as it's few blocks away from Downtown Santa Barbara. That's probably why the place was fairly empty during our visit. I love the adobe architecture of the building. It almost looks like a small mission turned into a museum. The front entrance to the museum faces De La Guerra Street but we entered from the side entrance through its beautiful courtyard. It was empty on the day of our visit but I can see this place getting busy if people rent the courtyard for weddings and events. The museum isn't that big but there were enough exhibits to keep us busy for about an hour. It was great seeing the history of Santa Barbara through its regular exhibits as well as some special ones. Admission is free but my wife and I felt compelled to make a donation because we loved the place so much. We saw a glass donation box by its gift shop so we put some cash in there to support the museum. Will try to make this a regular stop on our future visits to Santa Barbara.

My partner and I were looking for something to do on a lazy Saturday in town. We have already…read moreexplored much of what the Central Coast has to offer so we decided to revisit an attraction. The Santa Barbara Historical Museum came to mind after noticing their Project Fiesta exhibit was going on. It also just so happens that Yelp's "Travel Like A Local" campaign is going on simultaneously, so the timing was impeccable. This museum is a hidden gem somewhat off the beaten path. It is a few blocks from downtown State Street and two from the historic Presidio. Most tourists unfortunately miss it. Yet, this beautiful adobe building with a humongous boat anchor in front is worth visiting. Heck, there's no reason to not enter since it's completely free to the public (donations appreciated)! Upon entering, to the left is a gift shop with many local books and souvenirs. Yet it's easy to be distracted by the gorgeous central courtyard with a water fountain as its focal point. This is a popular venue for weddings, dances and other celebrations. Be sure to get a photo of an original Camino Real Bell, the marker used to connect the California Missions. There is also the Glenhill Library here. Many don't know that if you sneak out the back gate, you can step back into time with dirt ground, lush fruit trees, and La Casa Covarrubias. The museum also features a permanent exhibit called The Story of Santa Barbara. It's the perfect introduction to the Central Coast's long history of the native Chumash people, the influence of Mexico and the Spanish, the 1925 Earthquake and more. Upon my most recent visit was an unexpected discovery, an exhibit on Clarence Mattei: Portrait of a Community. I knew of the historic Mattei's Tavern, Inn and Stagecoach Stop after it was recently renovated and became part of a new luxury Auberge Resort in Los Olivos. Little did I know that he became a well-known artist. His first free-sketch was of Leutze's 1851 painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware at only 15 years of age! Prominent guests of the Tavern recognized his skill and sponsored his studies in San Francisco and New York. To this day you can see his art on the walls of the Tavern, but also here. Another current temporary exhibit is of Old Spanish Days/Fiesta, Santa Barbara's pride and joy. 2023 is its 99th anniversary! I had no idea that Fiesta was originally started to celebrate the opening of the Lobero Theatre. To this day, it remains the oldest running theater in California. The photos of almost a century caught by camera and shared at this exhibit are spectacular. All in all, whether it's your first visit to Santa Barbara or you're a life-long native, a visit to this museum is a must!

Summer in Santa Barbara is beautiful...and absolutely overrun with tourists. I mean, they had every…read morerestaurant PACKED, every parking space TAKEN, every dessert shop FULL, and every sidewalk OVERFLOWING. Ironically, as tourists ourselves (LOL, sort of), we needed a break from THE TOURISTS! My best friend Catherine suggested we duck into the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and I'm glad she did. It's not a massive museum. Just two floors. But hear me when I say it punches above its weight. On the day we went, there was a thoughtful and curated mix of Southeast Asian and Indian artifacts, contemporary works, digital installations and enough classic pieces to keep serious art lovers happy. There were also funny art pieces that reminded everyone that art is allowed to have a sense of humor, too. I appreciated the balance. One of my favorite exhibits there let us enter our birth information and it generated our birth charts. Whether you believe in astrology or not, it was fun to interact with the art instead of just looking at it. I learned some cool stuff about myself looking at my birth chart. Hey...If you need a break from the crowds, this is the place. It's peaceful, cool inside, has clean restrooms and it's just the right size to explore without feeling overwhelmed. You won't lose your whole day here. You'll simply enjoy the bit of time you dedicate to visiting. Sometimes the best attraction in a tourist town is the one that gives you a break from other people. Consider.

Really lovely museum. Currently under construction, but had some great exhibits open. I got a…read moredocent tour which I was very happy about. The pieces of art were beautiful, and the docent was able to go into shocking detail about each one. On top of all that, the price was really reasonable for what you get here. If I lived in the area I'd absolutely become a member, huge fan!