Open daily, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM with early closure Sunday, December 8, and Sea Center late opening Monday, December 9. Check our hours or calendar for more details.

Field Trips at the Sea Center

We are delighted to offer a variety of NGSS-aligned guided school field trip programs for the 2024–25 school year, designed for grades K–12. Our sister campus, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, also offers field trips.

Registration

Register for a Field Trip >

What’s Included

Field trips at the Sea Center take place on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10:00 AM to noon and include

  • A fun, interactive topic-driven program delivered outside on Stearns Wharf – right above the sea!  
  • A tour of the Sea Center’s first floor, through interpreter-led touch-tank and hands-on exhibits (including Shark Cove, Intertidal Wonders, and the Wet Deck) that highlight content covered in each grade-specific program 
  • An exclusive, interpreter-led scavenger hunt on the second floor of the Sea Center including Dive In: Our Changing Channel and the Marine Mammal Mezzanine 

If you prefer just to do a tour without a topic-driven program or scavenger hunt, jump to read about tour-only visits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question about capacity, booking, payment, logistics, or self-guided visit? Scan our Sea Center Field Trip FAQ.

Menu of Programs

The field trips below are listed by their alignment with grade-specific Next Generation Science Standards. They can all be adjusted to work for a range of grade levels. If you’re interested in a program listed for another grade, please contact seacenterbookings@sbnature2.org for details or to have a program adjusted for your class.

Kindergarten Standards

Trip to the Tide Pools
NGSS: K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1
Students learn the basic needs of marine animals and the unique, resilient species commonly found in our own local Intertidal zone, also known as tide pools. They make observations and discover how these hardy animals meet their needs in this ever-changing habitat.

1st Grade Standards

Powerful & Precious Pups of Shark Cove
NGSS: 1-LS1-2
Students learn about how some animal parents keep their young safe in incredibly wild and wonderful ways. Students get to see up close how local Swell Shark and Horn Shark embryos are able to survive. Students study and make observations about the differences between real egg case specimens then learn about the behaviors exhibited by each species.

2nd Grade Standards

Marine Biodiversity: Stronger Together
NGSS: 2-LS4-1
Students learn about the amazing diversity of life between habitats and how biodiversity makes marine ecosystems more resistant to outside threats. Each student has the opportunity to take on the role of an organism in the sandy bottom habitat and discover firsthand what can happen when marine communities are disrupted by invasive species.

3rd Grade Standards

Abalone Advocates: Modeling Population Management
NGSS: 3-LS4-4
Students learn about the history of the White Abalone fishery and harvesting, and use data to suggest solutions to overharvesting. Students play an exciting and competitive game to simulate different fisheries population management techniques! Students work together to advocate for solutions to overharvesting.

4th Grade Standards

Sensing the Sea: Beyond the Five Human Senses
NGSS: 4-LS1-2
Students learn the incredible diversity of marine animal senses. By examining actual specimens, they discover the electroreceptors of sharks, the movement-sensing whiskers of sea lions, and echolocation used by dolphins. They will gain understanding of how these unique senses aid in the survival of these marine creatures. Students even get the chance to experience sound waves like dolphins do!

5th Grade Standards

Kelp Connections: Ecosystem Relationships
NGSS: 5-LS2-1
Students learn how matter travels through the ocean while they each take on the role of parts of a kelp forest! Students work together to demonstrate what healthy food webs and their cycles of matter look like, and discover what happens when they become imbalanced due to human impact!

Tour-only Visits

If you would prefer to bring your school groups to the Sea Center for a tour-only visit, we offer this option for groups of up to 60 students. Like field trips, tour-only visits take place on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 10:00 AM to noon.

The Sea Center’s tour group capacity is 30 students, so if you have more than 30 students, please note that you will need to split your group and that only 30 students will be able to be accommodated per hour.

For example, if you have a group of 60 students,

  • One half of the group will attend from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. 
  • The other half of the group will attend from 11:00 AM to noon.  

The half that is not touring the Sea Center will wait outside in the care of your school staff or parent chaperones while the other half is inside. Some activities that previous groups have enjoyed have been playing at the beach, touring the wharf, or having snack/lunch nearby. Just make sure to be back for your tour at 11:00 AM!

Your group will be greeted by our Sea Center school programs staff, and we will assist with the logistics of your group’s movement through our facility and, when necessary, the splitting of larger groups for staggered entry.

If you are interested in a tour-only visit booking for more than 30 students, please contact the Sea Center School & Community Programs specialist directly at seacenterbookings@sbnature2.org, or 805-962-2526 ext. 108.

Have more questions about your options? Check our Sea Center Field Trip FAQ or contact seacenterbookings@sbnature2.org.

Register for a Field Trip >