an active research program with a focus on marine biology, terrestrial vertebrates, insects, anthropology, geological mapping, and natural history art. Greeting visitors near the front entrance is what has become an iconic display for the museum and Santa Barbara: a rearticulated skeleton of a blue whale. Temporary exhibits cover the whole range of natural history topics such as dinosaurs, sharks, antique natural history art, "Butterflies Alive" and “Bringing the Condors Home” telling the story of the decline and beginning of recovery of the California condor. The museum’s Gladwin Planetarium was renovated in early 2005 and equipped with technology to display distant planets, stars, and galaxies. The museum will launch a $30 million remodel in fall 2016, starting with the butterfly pavilion. During the renovation, the museum will stay open, and the square footage will remain unchanged. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center, formerly known as the "Ty Warner Sea Center", is an off-site facility owned and operated by the Museum of Natural History and is located on Santa Barbara’s historic Stearns Wharf. It originally opened in 1986 and was expanded and renovated in 2005. Among the exhibits of the Sea Center are a life-size model of a gray whale and calf, tide pool with waves rushing into it every 60 seconds, the Wet Deck featuring direct access to the water below, the Channel Theater, the Workshop, the Whale Karaoke station, and the plastinated dolphin. The museum has one of the largest extant collections of historical Native American basketry by Chumash basket weaver artists. See also List of museums in California Visual arts by indigenous Californians Native American basket weavers Basket weaving References External links Official Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History website Chumash Basket photos Museums in Santa Barbara, California Natural history museums in California Native American museums in California Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Museums established in 1916 1916 establishments in California Mission Revival architecture in California Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California