Open Wednesday through Sunday. Fine art, western saddles, exquisite costumes and picturesque antique toys highlight the collection. Both permanent and revolving exhibits interpret Santa Barbara's colorful past from the age of European exploration through Spanish, Mexican and American eras. The Casa de la Guerra celebrated its opening in 1998 in historic El Paseo. The museum offers an interactive digital visual and audio display, document showcase, ship models, artifacts, uniformed mannequins, and wall paintings and interprets the extraordinary but little-known role the Chumash Indians played in the defense of Santa Barbara.
Admission is free.
For history buffs, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History specializes in California and North American West Coast natural history. Highlights include a Chumash Indian Hall with a diorama of prehistoric Indian life in the Santa Barbara area. A giant skeleton of a baby blue whale marks the entrance. Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free on the last Sunday of the month and to the native Chumash community. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and every Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is by donation.