Removing Historic Barriers to Coastal Access

A cool breeze blows as a group of students walk through the Carpinteria salt marsh and down to the beach. It is a sunny day – perfect for exploring the shore. The group has just come from the seal rookery and will now dig in the sand to see what they can find. A young girl is delighted to find crabs in her sand, giggling at the surprise. For youth participating in the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum’s (SBMM) national award-winning Maritime on the Move program, this is a typical experience – and one that is remembered for a lifetime. “We had a young person participating in a program, and she had never seen the ocean. At one point, she turned to one of our staff members and asked, ‘Can I touch the water?’” says SBMM Executive Director Greg Gorga. “We know less about the deep sea than we do the surface of the moon, and the ocean’s capacity to awe can produce an epiphany in
an individual.”

On any given day at SBMM, conversation can be heard by guests of all ages enjoying their experience at the museum. Visitors embark on a journey of discovery, interacting with nearly 8,000 square feet of immersive and interactive exhibits. Serving as a hub for Santa Barbara’s coastal heritage, the museum highlights 13,000 years of local maritime history – from Chumash culture to today’s surfing and environmental movements – in addition to featuring two docked historic vessels, and a theater hosting films ranging from the earliest history of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands to shipwrecks and underwater adventures. 

With more than 40,000 visitors yearly, the museum is the perfect place to spend a few hours learning more about local maritime history and viewing exhibitions often featuring local artists and photographers. Additionally, SBMM goes beyond walls with its diverse, experiential, and project-based education programs available to the community all year-long. SBMM’s programs such as Maritime on the Move, Tall Ship, Girls in Ocean Science Conference, Science Nights, and Marine Science provide students with a sense of adventure as they think about maritime connections in the natural environment.

“The outstanding Tall Ship program reinforces what is being taught in a way no other program could do so successfully,” says Ron Maderas, a fourth-grade teacher at Pine Grove Elementary School. “I see the children getting excited about being part of a crew, being on a ship, and that all-too-rare opportunity to actually sail out to sea. I simply love what the program has done for my hundreds of students over the years, for the life-long memories it has provided them (and me), and for how it has made them ‘grow up to be salts’ right in front of my eyes.”

For young people in particular, the museum and its carefully designed educational mission offer a glimpse of the larger world – and of previously unrevealed possibilities. “For many students in our community, life is defined by their immediate neighborhood,” says SBMM Deputy Director Jessica Tade. “For some, an SBMM program is the first time they’ve been in a museum, and for others, it is the first time they have seen the ocean.”