We met up with our family in Santa Barbara, at California's MOXI - The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation. It was better than we could have imagined. Three floors of S.T.E.A.M. experiences for hours of fun!
Joy and her favorite cousin spent over an hour in the very first room, playing with the pneumatic tubes and other air-based experiments. The lady working there nicknamed her "puffball princess" because of Joy's utter glee.
![puff balls at the Santa Barbara, at California's MOXI - The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0601/0984/8809/files/PXL_20240720_175409509_7b48581a-9f38-4238-935e-da8696431f20_480x480.jpg?v=1721706384)
![Pneumatic tubes at Santa Barbara, at California's MOXI - The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0601/0984/8809/files/PXL_20240720_175330296_480x480.jpg?v=1721706421)
![air powered fun at Santa Barbara, at California's MOXI - The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0601/0984/8809/files/PXL_20240720_173820602.MP_480x480.jpg?v=1721706462)
The older kids moved through at a different pace. We took a break for lunch at Rusty's Pizza Parlor for some cheese pizza and a respectable salad bar. Then we headed right back over to the museum for more adventures.
![magnets and more at Santa Barbara, at California's MOXI - The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0601/0984/8809/files/PXL_20240720_181412655_480x480.jpg?v=1721706620)
We followed this up with a trip to the beach and some ice cream. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center is at the end of the pier, a short walk from MOXI. The Santa Barbara train station also is right there. Our next visit will hopefully be by train, and will include the Sea Center with the MOXI. Highly, highly recommend this place!
Are you looking for adventures nearby? Check out this list!
If you want to explore outside at night with a UV flashlight (so so amazing!), I recommend these flashlights from Amazon: TactEagle UV Flashlight 365nm. They are inexpensive, the right type of UV for minerals and insects, powerful enough, just need one AA battery, and they seem to last forever! (I may get a small commission from Amazon, at no cost to you, if you purchase from this link.)
This website is a side-hustle for paying for future family adventures; if you want to check out our stones and crystals, please do!