Seymour Marine Discovery Center Review

Don't expect a showcase of colorful fish. This is a showcase to revitalize the scientist in you. Each exhibit is designed as a scientific thought experiment. For example, do crabs decorate their bodies with any colored balls or do select a color to match their surrounding? There is a shell shark and a starfish touch and feel tanks. There's a lot information signs with a good amount detail to explain the experiments or the scientific value of the fish. If you love information and knowing the importance of the ocean and it's creatures, this is for you. I loved reading all the information, but my kids (ages 5 and 2) kept pulling me away from each exhibit to move me along. After doing the touch tanks, my kids were uninterested.

Really cool place! My kids loved it. They have a little touch pool and very educational staff, we learned and saw a lot!

You can ask marine research questions or bring your toddlers. Cool stuff for everyone! Take your time to dig deeper. Don't just touch the sharks - find out why they glow in the dark!

Use to live in Soquel. Took my kids there for many years. I still go even though I live 5 hours away. Friendly people lots to see and do. Great experience for kids 14 and under. Plus you can go for a walk outside and enjoy the ocean.

Great family outing with beautiful ocean views as well as natural history with whale skeletons and living sea creatures.

This is a really cool place to visit with the whole faimly! A few giant whale skeletons outside for display all day!

If you haven't been to the Symour Marine discovery center at least once you should go, absolutely worth the 9 dollar admission. Also you get 3 hours of parking so after you pet a shark and take the tour make sure to take a walk on the cliffs or check out Natural bridges state park that's near by.

Excellent friendly staff is a plus as well.

A great museum with lots of rally cool marine animals!

Being this a research center, got to know the authentic info about different species living underwater.

Love coming here, great place to take children and you may learn something new yourself.

A wonderful place to let the kids explore and learn about the ocean life and all its creatures. Overlooking the ocean with a family friendly atmosphere.

A wonderful place for young children and adults! The museum is engaging, not overwhelming. My 4 & 7 year old children had such a good time and we all learned a lot about Marine life. We also took part in the guided tour outside, which was informative and interesting. You can see the skeleton of a blue whale on display as well. All the volunteers working at the Center are knowledgeable and friendly.

A beautiful place to visit with children. The view is amazing to walk around and take pictures! The museum is very simple, special and good for children!

Great place! It's a discovery center, not an aquarium, which was nice because there are hands on exhibits and the volunteers who work there are very knowledgeable and seem to have a serious interest, which is noticable. We took the tour and really learned a lot from our guide!

Great little marine science place. Inexpensive. Not crowded. Small, but a lot to see even so. Blue whale skeleton is amazing!

It's a small place but with some good displays. They also have tours which take you around the place including visit to the dolphins.

Nice gardens, interesting information and exhibits .

It is a great place to have your kids and adults involve in activities related to our oceans and marine life. My kids had a great experience and had the chance to interact with some marine life. Now we also need to note that the place is a bit small but full of opportunities for you to learn. I he the opportunity to visit this place when I was taking marine biology at school and now I had a chance to share it with my little ones.

Great place to take the younguns and explore. They have an 85' Blue whale skeleton. Great educational experience.

If you come here on weekends, you should pay attention to the bus time, because it is two hours, so you have to take time. This is very worthwhile. You can get a good understanding of the knowledge of blue whales and the knowledge of sports conservation. The museum tickets are USD9, which is a reasonable price.

A pretty and relaxing spot to stop at while visiting Santa Cruz. There's a tour and you can see dolphins :)

Hands on...great for kids. I touched a shark and enjoyed the tour where I saw the friendly dolphins!

Found the Discovery Center on a whim with our family and kids. Absolutely amazing! Did the free tour, spent time looking at all the research exhibits and touch tanks. Overall absolutely amazing and will come again when we are back in California!

This place looks small from the outside, but it packs a big punch. There was more things to see than I had expected!

They have really expanded and improved this place from the Long Marine Lab I remember from over two decades ago. Beautiful facilities and fascinating exhibits of sorts. Love the whale skeletons out front too.

Very small aquarium but worth the visit just to see the dolphins being studied (must take the tour to see them. ) It's worth the trip just to see the whale skeletons outside (free) and the beautiful view of the ocean.
The gift shop is probably one of my favorite gift shops around, with an amazing selection of unique, ocean related items

Wonderful place! Lots of important information about our oceans. Sharon was a great guide.

Amazing museum, very informational and fun to visit!

We love it here and the marine labs. We come here at least once a year. There are some good activities for the kids. The small aquarium is nice. The area around the lab is fun too. The kids love to play on the sea lion statues.

I love this place especially the shark touch tank and gift shop! Would be great to have tours of the marine mammal overlook again!

Great place to take the young ones to learn about local marine life.

Friendly and informative staff. The touchponds were very cool. Make sure to take the included tour.

Hands on education! You get to touch the swell sharks, anemones,star fish and sea cucumbers. Fun scavenger hunt for little kids too.

A little bit underwhelming, but you can pet sharks so worth the trip.

Nice small museum. There are touch pools where you can touch sea stars, seas urchins, algae, swell shark eggs, anemones and even touch the back of an actual living swell shark. There is an enormous whale skeleton on the front of the building. There are also aquarium full of local fishes and crustaceans. Worth it with kids.

Good interactive marine center. Be sure to take the tour.

Go through the aquarium and exhibits, check out the whale skeletons outside, and enjoy the views from the cliffs. The paid tour is nice as well. You may get to see the dolphins.

Love this place!!
We will go from San Jose just for this!
Fun and romantic!

Great way to learn about the marine biology of the monterey bay. Way less crowded than the Monterey Bay Aquarium yet still a great place to bring families.

STOP SUPPORTING IMPROSIONMENT OF ANIMALS! Dolphins whales and like DO NOT BELONG IN CHLORINE GLASS BOWLS! For research purposes it states on their website, WHAT A JOKE! So sad to see ignorant people still exist !

Great place to visit and very educational and inspiring about the hard work of those studying marine life. There is a great museum as well with clean bathrooms and the gift shop was worth a visit with many ecofriendly items that were unique.

Very nice and we'll maintained, excellent educated staff! Smilling staff and not too crowded! Excellent for toddlers and small kids! Beautiful Vistas and trails right outside!

Very cool marine center. Friendly knowlageable staff. It ain't no Monterey Bay Aquarium, or Academy of Sciences, but it doesn't cost an arm or a leg either. Shark and starfish petting tanks are a plus! Awesome whale bones outside!

A lot of cool things to look at and touch in a small building. Has full whale skeletons outside to look at.

Not huge but surprisingly satisfying aquaria and exhibits. If looking for something a little more low-key and educational than The Boardwalk a must when visiting Santa Cruz.

Good place to bring kids to here and tour. The admission is not expensive too

Relaxing, LOTS packed into a nice, clean display, with more to see outside.

Very nice place in a quiet area. Lots of interactive activities with friendly staff. Pet sharks and other sea creatures.

Small and a little out of the way, but still worth the visit. Beautiful views and educational. Recommend taking their tour. They have a small shark petting tank, and a small starfish touch area.

Great museum, if a little small. I would recommend the dolphin tour.

Friendly and educational. Needs to be more aesthetically pleasing ...

Had a blast with our toddler, touching sea stars, watching jellies and playing on the life size elephant seal sculpture. Free entrance for kids under three and $8 for adults is a heck of a deal.

Go and touch the sharks and find the flatfish!! Really amazing fish...

Small but cool aquarium and marine research center. Interesting variety of animals (some I've never seen before), plus interactive displays for kids (and curious adults). Came to see the whale skeletons outside, but I'm glad I also took a look inside. The view of the ocean is also great!

What a fantastically educational place! Also, the docent was so knowledgeable!

This is a great place to bring out of town visitors to experience what those of us who live in and near the ocean experience every day. Add to that the science, the exhibits, and the views and it's a great place to spend a couple of hours. I highly recommend walking the trails that border the cliffs for view Monterey Bay and its sea life.

This is such a great center, regardless if you are bringing children, going for your inner child, or if you are simply passionate about marine life and the surrounding bay! Keep in mind it is small, and you can't go into it expecting to see The Monterey Bay Aquarium. Totally different type of facility.

So, my children - ages six and nine - had a great time interacting with all the displays, and that was after being completely wowed by the massive eighty-five foot blue whale skeleton greeting us upon arrival. They enjoyed exploring the various forms of sea life and were enthused at the opportunity to touch sharks, sea cucumbers, bat stars, urchins and more. The tour really is a must, and my children were ecstatic to learn they were able to see dolphins. There were three on site, and each was active and playful. The two young dolphins spent our time there wrestling with each other. All of the docents and volunteers are extremely knowledgeable and thoroughly enjoy sharing their knowledge. This is a working facility; students and researchers are seen sporadically moving about with smiles on their faces. Behind the center is a public access coastal trail system. Spend some extra time walking the cliffs, or just hanging out on the benches watching for whales. You'll see plenty of marine activity! I have to admit, I left with the desire to go back to school for a new degree, to pursue a new career!

Oh - Natural Bridges State Beach is right next door, if you'd like to spend some time in a gorgeous cove after your visit.

Only went to see the whale which you can do without paying entrance

Beautiful grounds overlooking the ocean outside. Wild bunnies and robins in the brush, and spectacular cliff views.

A little small, but inexpensive and clearly this place is a love letter to marine biology. Great place to spend an afternoon with the kids.

Great place to stop with the family on your trip to Santa Cruz. it's a very manageable size, good for an hour or two. They have sharks you can pet, and a fun touch tank, as well.

Great little place to learn a little bit about Aquatic Life on the coast good for kids quick simple and good value

wow beautiful museum really easy to walk around and enjoy all the exhibits I got to touch a live shark with help from a professional also I got to touch starfish and anemones did you know their venomous but they can't actually hurt you cuz your skin is too thick haha also they have some cool whales skeletons in the view outside on the cliff edge is spectacular

A small marine center. Guided tour was great, dolphins were cute. You can touch a Swell shark. Great experience.

A fun half day sort of a place. The main attraction is the amazing blue whale skeleton that's the largest in the world (87ft). There's also a small aquarium area inside where volunteers educate visitors about marine life and let you touch a shark! wait... What??

I touched a shark, and I LIKED it!!! Lol What a wonderful place to visit with the kids! Super informative and they even had a red octopus to look at! The gift shop is really nice too!

Beautiful scenery, educational, and interesting to learn.