plan your visit
The California Nature Art Museum is located at 1511-B Mission Drive, Solvang, CA 93463.
Museum parking is available in the parking lot behind the museum (please do not use spaces reserved for others). In addition, there is a free public parking lot located on Mission Drive, 1/2 block away from the museum.
Please review our current hours prior to your visit.
Questions? Call (805) 688-1082.
Regular hours
Monday: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Tuesday: CLOSED
Wednesday: CLOSED
Thursday: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Friday: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
CLOSED:
Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day
admission
Museum Members: FREE
General (18 years +): $5.00
Children (17 & younger): FREE
Active Military with ID: FREE
Museums for All (see details below): FREE
Museums for All: Visitors receiving CalFresh/SNAP benefits are eligible for free admission for up to 4 adults upon presentation of a valid CalFresh/SNAP EBT card and photo ID at check-in.
Unable to visit in-person? We also invite you to explore our Virtual Visit page, our Exhibitions page, YouTube channel, and social media channels to enjoy the California Nature Art Museum from anywhere through online galleries and activities, videos, recorded online events, and more.
Stay up to date with the latest Wildling news by subscribing to our e-newsletter here and by following us on Instagram and Facebook, where we are committed to providing regular arts and nature content for you to explore from the comfort of your home.
group tours
School visits & tours are FREE of charge
School visits require an advance reservation of at least one week. Please be prepared to answer questions about:
Class size / grade level
Number of chaperones (we suggest one adult per 6 children)
Focus of visit / any specific lessons required
Which exhibition(s) you would like included in the tour visit
Allotted time for your visit / preferred tour length
Preferred tour date(s)
10+ groups tours
Groups of 10 or more receive a discounted rate of $3.00/per person with advance reservation. Please be prepared to answer questions about:
Group size
Focus of visit
Which exhibition(s) you would like included in the tour visit
Allotted time for your visit / preferred tour length
Preferred tour date(s)
Please call (805) 686-8315 to talk with California Nature Art Museum staff about your tour needs.
Enjoy a virtual visit
Explore the links below to enjoy the California Nature Art Museum #MuseumFromHome! We’ve pulled together some of our favorite virtual content, including online exhibitions, links to art activities, videos, and more to help visitors find engaging art escapes.
Special thanks to the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation for their support of our programming efforts.
Installation view of works by artist Nathan Huff in Starry Nights: Visions of the Night Sky at the California Nature Art Museum.
Experience California Nature Art Museum Galleries Online
We’ve added full digital galleries on our website for the 2020 exhibitions and virtual initiatives below. Click on the corresponding links below to learn more and scroll on to explore the galleries:
Enjoy Our Social Media & video Content
We’ve joined museums across the U.S. and the world to share the #MuseumFromHome and a regular #MuseumMomentofZen to help our followers find art escapes to pass the time.
Follow the museum @calnatureartmuseum on Instagram and @calnatureartmuseum on Facebook to see regular posts, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch our latest video content.
We also recommend enjoying a short film by L.A. Review of Books, which highlights contemporary nocturne painter Eric Merrell. Three of Merrell’s works are included in the California Nature Art Museum’s exhibition, Starry Nights Visions of the Night Sky, as is the video. Watch online by clicking the link here.
And check out a behind-the-scenes look at artist Nathan Huff installing his 13-foot long painting “Phantom Limbs” for our Starry Nights: Visions of the Night Sky exhibition. Watch it online by clicking the link here.
Watch Ray Strong – A Legacy Of Art And Preservation (2019)
Enjoy the Wildling Museum-produced film on painter, muralist, organizer and educator, Ray Stanford Strong. Strong played a significant role in the late 20th century resurgence of landscape painting in the plein air tradition. During the last two decades of his life, Strong was key to the formation of the Oak Group, a collective of Santa Barbara, California artists with a shared concern for our disappearing natural landscapes.
This 22-minute film explores the legacy of artist Ray Strong as told by his fellow “artists for preservation,” the Oak Group. This film was produced in conjunction with the Wildling' Museum’s exhibition Ray Strong: A Collector’s Passion, which was exhibited February 2 – July 8, 2019.
Ray Strong – A Legacy of Art and Preservation was produced by the Wildling Museum and was directed by Jeff McLoughlin of Goodeye Films.
Make Crafts the Whole Family Can Enjoy
Upcycle household items into art
Check out the California Nature Art Museum’s YouTube channel for fun upcycling crafts you can make from home - including an egg carton fox, toilet paper tube owl, and more!
Paint the Northern Lights
Create a watercolor painting of the Northern Lights inspired by the California Nature Art Museum’s Starry Nights: Visions of the Night Sky exhibition. Learn how to make a masterpiece with just a few simple supplies. Click here to get started.
Create your own galaxy rocks
Travel out of this world and paint your own galaxy rocks at home with paint, rocks, and some glitter. Click here to get started.
Explore free online art classes led by famous illustrators
Whether your kids have cabin fever or you're looking for some creative distraction, these free online art classes offered by famous illustrators can help pass the time! Click here to get started.
Get inspired by natural materials with this lesson from California Nature Art Museum artist David Paul Bayles
From the artist: “I've collected these stick figures for a few years now. They hang around my studio. I'm offering all 16 of them as downloadable drawing prompts. Get out your pencils or crayons and forget the virus for a while.” Click here to get started.
Make a telescope with this guide from National Geographic Kids
Get crafty and build your own telescope to look for birds, treetops, and even stars in the night sky using a few simple household items. Click here to get started.
Create a comet on a stick with this guide from the NASA Space Place
Make a comet inspired by the Wildling’s Starry Nights: Visions of the Night Sky exhibition using simple household items in this craft guide from NASA’s Space Place. Click here to get started.
Courtesy David Paul Bayles
Download The California Nature Art Museum Coloring & Puzzle Worksheets
Coloring Pages
John Iwerks Valley Oak Coloring Page - Click to download.
Wolf Habitat Coloring Page - Click to download.
Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Coloring Page - Click to download.
California Amphibians Coloring Page - Click to download.
California Birds Coloring Page - Click to download.
California Mammals Coloring Page - Click to download.
California Reptiles Coloring Page - Click to download.
California Pacific Coast Animals Coloring Page - Click to download.
Earth Day Coloring Pages
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Coloring Page - Click to download.
Love Your Planet Coloring Page - Click to download.
Earth Day Fennec Fox Coloring Page - Click to download.
Word Search Puzzles
Endangered Species Word Search - Click to download.
Monarch Butterfly Word Search - Click to download.
Download Digital Backgrounds from the California Nature Art Museum Collection
DESIGN 1 - Featuring Richard Salas, “Sea Lions,” 2008, Inkjet print, Gift of Richard Salas, California Nature Art Museum Collection. Click to download.
DESIGN 2 - Featuring John Fery (1859 - 1934), “Blue Lake (Glacier National Park),” Oil on canvas, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Fish, California Nature Art Museum Collection. Click to download.
DESIGN 3 - Featuring David W. Wharton (1951 - 2019), “Brown Bear - Heads, Tails,” 1988, Mixed media, Gift of Barry A. Berkus and the Berkus Family, California Nature Art Museum Collection. Click to download.
Play Online Jigsaw Puzzles featuring the California Nature Art Museum Collection
DESIGN 1 - Ray Strong (1905-2006), “Eleanor’s Plum Tree,” 1973, Oil on masonite, Gift of Eleanor Childers, California Nature Art Museum Collection. Click to play.
DESIGN 2 - Macduff Everton, “Sand Hills, Fort Niobrara, National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska,” 2009, Chromogenic print, Gift of Mandm, Inc., California Nature Art Museum Collection. Click to play.
DESIGN 3 - Patti Jacquemain, “Golden King” (Grizzly Bear), 2005, Edition 2/8, Woodblock print, Gift of Patti Jacquemain, California Nature Art Museum Collection. Click to play.
DESIGN 4 - Roger Craton, “Penguin Playground” (Paulet Island, Antarctica), Edition 11/45, Photographic print, Gift of Roger Craton, California Nature Art Museum Collection. Click to play.
Lynn Hanson, “dreamhouse” (detail), 2017, Graphite and gouache on found vintage vellum, Courtesy the Artist.
Engage with Nature While Social Distancing
Virtual National and State Park Tours You Can Take From Home - Click here for more.
Take Up Birding in Your Own Backyard - Click here for more.