Description: A great place to visit.... both adults and children will enjoy this museum !!
Through interactive exhibits, theatrical storytelling, high-tech displays, and dramatic artifacts.... learn about Washington state's unique people and places, as well as their impact on the country and the world.
The building itself is an architectural masterpiece designed by Charles Moore and Arthur Andersson. The 106,000 square foot museum building boasts soaring spaces and dramatic archways that invite you into a history experience full of colors, textures, sights, and sounds. It is a beautiful building !
In the Great Hall you can take a video trip down the Columbia in the three-screen Columbia River Theater, use an interactive computer to learn Native languages, walk through a traditional Southern Coast Salish plank house and listen in on a conversation with a basket maker and her granddaughter, and also look at the many other colorful, interactive exhibits and walk-through dioramas here.
Model Railroad.... I think they are still working on this, but you should be able to view the progress. The Puget Sound Model Railroad Engineers club is constructing an 1,800 square foot permanent layout depicting the rail lines from Tacoma's Point Defiance Park to the Stampede Pass tunnel in the Cascades.
Ezra Meeker's beloved oxen, Dave and Dandy, are back on display in the History Lab, an interactive learning experience, which is now open on the 5th floor. It engages visitors with interactive exhibits featuring such historical concepts as Time, Place, Viewpoint, Exploration, and Precedent. In the learning center, visitors of all ages are encouraged to use the Tools of the History Trade (artifacts, ephemera, books & periodicals, people, maps, and images) to think like detectives in search of evidence.
The museum also offers special events and limited time exhibits throughout the year. A very nice shop with some interesting gift items is located on the lower floor.
Driving directions: From I-5 North or South take the City Center exit #133. Follow the I-705/City Center signs to 21st Street where you'll turn left, and then turn right onto Pacific Avenue. The museum parking lot is located on Pacific Avenue and behind the museum near the Group Entrance.
Hours may change during the year, but most days the museum is open 10-5pm. (Sundays 12-5) Thursdays the hours are extended, and from 5pm-8pm admission is FREE. After 5:00 you may also park on Pacific Avenue across from the museum for free.
Admission Charges: Adult (18 & over): $8.00
Senior (60+): $7.00 Student (6-17 yrs): $6.00
Military: $6.00 Children 5 and under: Free
Family (2 adults and up to 4 children): $25.00
This is located next to Chihuly's famous Bridge of Glass. It is free to walk through the Bridge of Glass, and it is definitely something you should not miss. The museum is also next to the Train Station which is interesting enough for a quick visit, too.
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