Best Learning Center/Museum
Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum
705 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria
Three, two, one, blast off! The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum’s newest exhibit is all about space, and Executive Director Nancy Gastelum said the museum’s partnership with Vandenberg Air Force Base has really brought the vision to life.
“I think the kids are having a terrific amount of fun pretending to be launch people,” Gastelum said with a laugh, “not astronauts yet.”
Discovery Museum staff have put hard work, long hours, and passion into bringing makerspaces and other innovative learning experiences to local families.
“So this is a real validation of all their dreaming, and their hard work, and their brainstorming of ideas,” Gastelum told the Sun. “There are lots of things happening here that I think our visitors love and want to see more of.”
Runner-up: The Dunes Center
—KB
View the full 18th Annual Best Of Northern Santa Barbara County.