MOXI - Museum of Exploration + Innovation

Like many science museums this one is geared towards young children. We usually visit science museums even if the exhibits don't delve deep into scientific topics because admission is free with our pass and we enjoy playing with the exhibits. Unfortunately the elevator was out of order during our visit so we only saw the first floor. 

 A long ramp accesses the entrance. About 2/3rds of the exhibits are accessible to some extent.

RVs cannot be parked on the streets in Santa Barbara so we parked in the designated RV spaces in the Garden Street lot and walked/rolled along the paved path that follows the beach before turning onto State Street. All of the curb cuts are very good.  Museum  34.4136, -119.69135

 

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center

 The Sea Center has two floors of exhibits including touch tanks with sharks, rays, sea stars, sea urchins, and sea anemones. Aquarium tanks house jelly fish, a small octopus, seahorses and other marine animals. Most exhibits focus on the animals that live in the unique habitats of the Santa Barbara Channel but there's also a polar bear, one of the animals that is losing sea habitat due to climate change. The admission price is high for this small museum so we were glad that we had a pass.

The Sea Center is located on Sterns Wharf which was built in 1872. It's billed as  the oldest working wooden wharf in California but after reading about the tornado, storms, fires, and boats crashing into it, I wonder if any of it is original. There are 17 businesses on the wharf and free 90 minute parking. 

The Sea Center is accessible. The touch tanks are low so it's easy to reach into the water. The wharf has a wide walkway . Some of the planks are old and worn which makes for a bumpy roll.  

RVs cannot be parked on the streets in Santa Barbara or on the wharf so we parked in the designated RV spaces in the Garden Street lot. From there it's a short walk/roll to the wharf along the paved path that follows the beach. Center  34.41041, -119.68571

 

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

The museum, built in 1923 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, features collections found in many older institutions such as mounted animals, birds, and pinned butterflies plus new and changing exhibits on earth, sea, and space sciences. There are also outdoor areas with live birds, a butterfly pavilion, and a native garden with very realistic animatronic dinosaurs.

The museum is accessible except for two dangerously steep ramps. The museum backyard trail was under construction during our visit and the alternate trail was not accessible so we missed that. The trail to the animatronic dinosaurs is accessible with assistance. Stay on the bricked and boardwalk paths for the most accessible routes. 

The accessible parking spaces near the entrance are too short for RVs but they can be parked across the regular spaces. There are accessible spaces at the west end of the lot where RVs can be parked without interfering with the traffic flow but it's a push uphill to the museum entrance. The dirt trails starting the west end of the lot are not accessible. Museum  34.44118, -119.71522

 

Berman Museum of World History

The founding of this museum is as interesting as the artifacts. During WWII Farley Berman was an American spy and Germaine Louise Kinne was a member of the French Resistance. Both were assigned to North Africa with a mission to spy on the other as each was suspected of being a double agent. When this was proven to be false they became friends, fell in love and married in 1945 then moved to Anniston, Alabama, Farley's hometown. Even though they remained there for the rest of their lives they continued to travel the world and collect thousands of historical artifacts, weapons, and pieces of art. 

Their collection was donated to the museum after they died and has grown as more items were added. The collection is eclectic and diverse, and includes unusual historic weapons, concealed weapons such as a pipe gun, Native American artifacts, western art, artifacts from Napoleon Bonaparte and Catherine the Great, Asian art, and WWII history and artifacts. 

We're not fans of mounted animals so we skipped the natural history museum located a short walk/roll away. The Longleaf Botanical Gardens surrounds the museums. Due to a lack of time and rainy weather we did not explore the gardens. 

The museum is accessible.

RVs will fit in the lot on the opposite side of museum drive. Museum  33.69704, -85.8191

 

Roberson Museum and Science Center

 Alonzo Jr, Roberson, heir to his father's lumber company, and his wife, Margaret Hays, were quiet philanthropists who willed their mansion to the city of Binghamton, NY to be used as an education center and museum. Several additions were added to accommodate  a diverse collection of exhibits. There's a large model train exhibit and exhibits on local history, natural history, and Native American history plus works of art. 

Some of the train layout is too high to be seen from a seated position but most of the museum is accessible.  An elevator goes to the second floor exhibits. The first floor of the mansion is accessed by a hallway on the second floor addition. A small, old fashioned lift accesses the mansion second floor exhibits and the empty third floor which I think was intended to be a ballroom.

We parked on the upper level of the parking lot. The spaces are not quite long enough but there's still enough room in the drive through lane for cars to pass. Longer RVs should be parked on the lower parking lot which will mean an uphill push to the museum entrance. Museum  42.09345, -75.91802

 

Rochester Museum & Science Center

The museum is a combination of natural history, human history, and hands-on science exhibits. All three floors have both hands-on exhibits and history exhibits which keeps it interesting for kids and adults. The hands-on exhibits are fairy typical and almost all of them are in working order. The natural history exhibits cover the ice age, early sea creatures, and mastodons. 

 

Human history focuses on the Native American experiences, Rochester in 1838, and the Underground Railroad. A thought provoking exhibit titled Objectively Racist features a large collection of items with commonly used racist caricatures that perpetuated stereotypes. The items were contributed by Doug Belton who began collecting after he noticed the images on sheet music that he found in thrift shops. 

 

The museum is accessible but some of the hands-on exhibits can not be experienced from a seated position. 

There are five parking areas. P3 is the largest and best for RVs which will fit if parked through the spaces or lengthwise across the spaces. Museum  43.15143, -77.58683