School Tours
Empowering Youth: Connecting California's History to our Future
Through this educational program, students will engage in meaningful discussions about the importance of cultural heritage, social justice, and community engagement, fostering a greater understanding of how historical narratives shape our identities and guide our actions in a diverse society.
Go behind the scenes at the Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library, one of the oldest libraries in California. This guided tour of areas not open to the public, led by our staff who will bring you face to face with some of the collection's greatest treasures.
Take in beautiful works of art, centuries-old rare books, and invaluable historical documents that date to the days of the Spanish Empire in North America, and to the founding of Santa Barbara itself.
This program at the moment serves public middle and high school kids in Santa Barbara County. We strive for equitable access to cultural and historical resources, and through these tours we connect the youth of our community directly with primary and secondary sources, including original documents, first hand accounts of life during the mission era, and through a plethora of rare books, artwork, photographs, maps, and ephemera.
We can be flexible on scheduling outside of our standard hours, but do want to make sure we have at least 2 weeks
lead time for tours to assure adequate staffing, space utilization, and artifact sourcing.
This tour is free for school groups but advanced reservations are required.
Groups of up to 30 can be accommodated, however, ideal group size is 5-15 students, teachers, and chaperones
While our location is handicap accessible, we request any accessibility needs are communicated when scheduling.
Please email our Collections & Programs Manager to arrange a tour.
Include the Following: Main Contact, School, Grade, Class, # of Attendees, and any scheduling needs.
Our educational school tours are generously sponsored by the following organizations:
