List of museums in Seattle facts for kids
Seattle, Washington is home to four major art museums and galleries: the Frye Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Art Museum, and the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Several Seattle museums and cultural institutions that are not specifically art museums also have excellent art collections, most notably the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, which has an excellent collection of Native American artwork.
Seattle is also home to well over 100 commercial art galleries, at least a dozen non-profit art galleries, and perhaps a hundred artists' studios that are open to the public at least once a month. About half of these galleries and studios are concentrated in one neighborhood, Pioneer Square.
Outside of the realm of art, Seattle has several other notable museums and similar institutions, the most notable including:
- The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, on the campus of the University of Washington, has a large collection of botanical, zoological, and geologic specimens in addition to an anthropology collection notable for its coverage of Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest.
- The Museum of History & Industry is the largest heritage organization in the State of Washington, with a collection of over 4 million artifacts, photographs, and archival materials, primarily related to the history of Seattle and the greater Puget Sound region. Their public facility is located in the historic Naval Reserve Armory at Lake Union Park in South Lake Union.
- Regional history figures prominently in other museum's including the Center for Wooden Boats, a maritime heritage museum on Lake Union; the Museum of Flight, which incorporates Boeing's original manufacturing plant; and the Museum of Communications.
- Key ethnic aspects of Seattle's cultural mix are represented by the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in Discovery Park, operated by United Indians of All Tribes; the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard, which honors Seattle's Scandinavian immigrants; and the Wing Luke Asian Museum in the International District which focuses on the culture, art, and history of Asian Pacific Americans; and the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) in the Central District which explores the art, history, and culture of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Seattle Aquarium is located on piers on the Elliott Bay waterfront; the Woodland Park Zoo on Phinney Ridge in north Seattle is one of the country's leading zoos, notable especially for its innovations in open and naturalistic zoo exhibits.
- The campus of Seattle Center includes the Pacific Science Center, Museum of Pop Culture, Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Seattle Children's Museum.
- The Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum in Pioneer Square honors the city's police force.
- The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is also in Pioneer Square tells the story of the people going to Alaska to search for gold.
- The Living Computer Museum is in SoDo and exhibits the history of computing. Vintage computers are displayed for interactive public use.
Museums
Name | Neighborhood | Type | Summary |
---|---|---|---|
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center | Lower Queen Anne | History | website, innovations and inventions around the world to make life better |
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture | University District | Natural history | Part of the University of Washington, includes fossils, natural history dioramas, Native American artifacts, Pacific Rim cultures exhibit, gems and minerals |
Center for Wooden Boats | South Lake Union | Maritime | Historic wooden sailboats, rowboats and other boats, locations in Lake Union Park and Cama Beach State Park |
Center on Contemporary Art | Seattle | Art | website - contemporary exhibitions at various locations |
Chihuly Garden and Glass | Lower Queen Anne | Art | Studio glass of Dale Chihuly, located in the Seattle Center |
Coast Guard Museum Northwest | SoDo | Military | Includes U.S. Coast Guard ship models, uniforms, photos and artifacts |
Daybreak Star Cultural Center | Magnolia | Art | Native American art gallery and cultural center |
EMP Museum | Lower Queen Anne | Media | Popular culture, includes rock & roll and popular music memorabilia, interactive exhibits, Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame |
Frye Art Museum | First Hill | Art | Painting and sculpture from the nineteenth century to the present |
Georgetown Steam Plant | Georgetown | Technology | Steam engines in the former power plant |
Giant Shoe Museum | Downtown | Commodity | Located in Pike Place Market, collection of giant shoes |
Henry Art Gallery | University District | Art | The art museum of the University of Washington, includes contemporary art, photography, 19th-century art, Japanese and West Coast ceramics, costumes and textiles |
History House of Greater Seattle | Fremont | History - Local | History and heritage of Seattle and its neighborhoods, currently closed, opening in new facility in 2017 |
Jack Straw New Media Gallery | University District | Art | website, non-profit multidisciplinary audio arts center |
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park | Pioneer Square | History | Seattle's role in the Klondike Gold Rush |
Last Resort Fire Department Museum | Downtown | Firefighting | website, vintage fire trucks, equipment, uniforms, located at the HQ for the Seattle Fire Department |
Living Computer Museum | SoDo | Computer | History of the development of computers |
Log House Museum | West Seattle | Local history | website, operated by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society |
Milepost 31 | Downtown | History | website, history of Pioneer Square and the construction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel, features model of Bertha (tunnel boring machine) |
Museum of Communications | Georgetown | Technology | Formerly known as the Vintage Telephone Equipment Museum, historic telephone equipment |
Museum of Flight | South | Aerospace | Incorporates Boeing's original manufacturing plant, includes private and military aircraft |
Museum of History and Industry | South Lake Union | History | Washington's history and culture |
Nordic Heritage Museum | Ballard | Ethnic - Nordic | Heritage of Seattle's Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish immigrants |
Northwest African American Museum | Central District | Ethnic - African American | African American heritage in the Northwest |
Northwest Nikkei Museum | Central District | Ethnic | Operated by the Japanese Cultural Community Center, heritage and history of the Pacific Northwest’s Nikkei community |
Northwest Seaport | South Lake Union | Maritime | Includes the Arthur Foss tugboat, Lightship 83 |
Olympic Sculpture Park | Downtown | Art | 9-acre sculpture park |
Pacific Science Center | Lower Queen Anne | Science | Exhibits include health, dinosaurs, space, human body, Puget Sound, technology |
Photographic Center Northwest | Capitol Hill | Art | website, includes a contemporary photography gallery |
Seattle Art Museum | Downtown | Art | 3 facilities: main museum with diverse collections, Seattle Asian Art Museum and the Olympic Sculpture Park |
Seattle Asian Art Museum | Capitol Hill | Art | Asian art, facility of the Seattle Art Museum |
Seattle Central College M. Rosetta Hunter Art Gallery | Capitol Hill | Art | website |
Seattle Children's Museum | Lower Queen Anne | Children's | Located in the Seattle Center |
Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame | SoDo | Sports | Located at Safeco Field |
Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum | Downtown | Law enforcement | History of policing in the Pacific Northwest |
Seattle Pinball Museum | Chinatown-International District | Amusement | website, vintage pinball machines |
Seattle University Galleries | First Hill | Art | Hedreen Galley at the Lee Center for the Arts, Kinsey Gallery, Vachon Gallery |
Steamship Virginia V | South Lake Union | Maritime | 1922 steamship |
The Unity Museum | University District | Religious | website, peace, justice, and the Bahá'í Faith, locally and internationally |
Wing Luke Asian Museum | Chinatown-International District | Ethnic - Pan Asian Pacific American | Culture, art and history of Asian Pacific Americans |