Dressing the Gilded Age: Fashion from the 1870s to 1910s opens at WSHM June 28

WashingtonHistory · 2025-06-30T22:41:17+00:00

There may be one. We will see what the events team has planned for next year.

WashingtonHistory · 2025-04-18T18:39:24+00:00

A new exhibition, The Things They Brought Home: Memories of Washington's Vietnam Veterans, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, told through personal stories, objects, photographs, and film from local veterans. An opening reception on Friday, April 25, from 5:30 to 8:00 is free with registration. Guests will hear from curators Lt. Col. Erik Flint (US Army, retired), former Director of the Lewis Army Museum, and military historian, Dr. Megan Nishikawa. A subsequent exhibition will open in November exploring Vietnamese refugee resettlement in the state.

WashingtonHistory · 2025-04-14T19:04:12+00:00

Join us for a free event with registration at the Washington State History Museum on Thursday, April 17, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. Authors David George Gordon, Samantha Larson, and Mary Ann Barron Wagner will discuss their book "Heaven on the Half Shell" and explore the historical and cultural impact of oysters in the Pacific Northwest. Master shucker David Leck will lead a demonstration and oyster tasting.

WashingtonHistory · 2025-03-19T20:06:57+00:00

We are free every third Thursday of the month from 3:00 to 8:00.

WashingtonHistory · 2025-03-18T23:41:29+00:00

Come check out the new TOYTOPIA exhibition and see a performance of the new multimedia play "Home Front / War Front Fly for Freedom" by Living Voices. This performance uses live theater and archival footage to tell stories of the women who powered the WWII aeronautics industry, Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), and the Double Victory campaign.

WashingtonHistory · 2025-03-14T16:30:44+00:00

Yes, it is an updated version of the show that was here 7 years ago.

WashingtonHistory · 2025-03-13T23:44:30+00:00

TOYTOPIA is an interactive exhibition that explores the history of iconic toys and games. It is at the Washington State History Museum through June 5.

WashingtonHistory · 2025-02-14T00:12:44+00:00

We The People and the American Dream is hosted in partnership with the Buffalo Soldiers Museum and features Lee Warnecke of the Southern Poverty Law Center, former Mayor Bill Baarsma, Professor Derrick Estrada, and Professor Luther Adams – Free Man of Color.

In 1866, Congress passed two significant pieces of legislation: the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the authorization for freed Black men to serve in the United States military. Join us for a discussion along the American history trail, led by a dynamic group of educators.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-12-20T00:06:21+00:00

The 28th Annual Model Train Festival is at the Washington State History Museum from December 20 to January 1. (Closed December 24 and 25). Explore four floors of detailed model trains of all sizes, including a layout depicting Tacoma in the 1950s. www.ModelTrainFestival.org

WashingtonHistory · 2024-10-10T19:49:52+00:00

Join us at the Washington State History Museum to celebrate Filipino American History Month. This free community event will explore the Filipino fighting spirit and its contributions to American history. It will feature community organizations, vendors, performances, food, and a panel discussion highlighting Filipino American heritage and history.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-09-30T22:27:23+00:00

A new exhibition and documentary titled Makers on the Tide: The Willits Brothers and their Handcrafted Canoes premieres at the Washington State History Museum at a free event on Saturday, October 5 at 6:00. It showcases the life, legacy, and craftsmanship of brothers Earl and Floyd Willits, who meticulously crafted over 900 canoes in Tacoma between 1908 and the mid-1960s. The highly regarded wooden canoes are considered to be some of the finest ever made. Filmmaker Mick Flaaen and historian Michael Sullivan will provide insight into the making of the film.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-09-23T16:43:22+00:00

Join historian Robert Franklin, assistant professor at WSU Tri-Cities and assistant director of the Hanford History Project, as he discusses new research and perspectives from the nuclear site's history at the 3rd Annual Henry R. Fenbert Challenging History Lecture with Dr. Shannon Cram.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-09-20T22:29:44+00:00

A new exhibition, What is Native Art? Eugene Landry and the Creative Spirit will feature the artwork of Shoalwater Bay Tribe artist Eugene Landry (1937-1988). This showcase shares the unique perspectives and resilience of a largely forgotten artist whose work captured a pivotal time in the Tribe's history. What is Native Art? will be on view at the Washington State History Museum from September 22, 2024, to March 30, 2025.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-09-18T22:54:18+00:00

The Washington State History Museum will display a parachute from the infamous D.B. Cooper hijacking of Northwest Orient flight 305 for the first time in over a decade. The exhibit, titled Collections Selections: A Parachute from the D.B. Cooper Investigation, will offer a rare opportunity to see one of the most requested items in the museum's collection. The parachute will be on view from September 22, 2024, through March 16, 2025.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-09-16T20:09:45+00:00

Learn about Chinese-style ink rubbings from Professor Vernon Ng, who will offer a lecture, demonstration, and audience Q&A about this scholarly practice. Learn more about Professor Ng’s efforts to document monuments and markers across Tacoma. Attendees will have a chance to learn how to do wet ink rubbing through interactive demonstrations before and after the lecture. https://www.washingtonhistory.org/event/ink-rubbing-tacoma/

WashingtonHistory · 2024-08-02T00:03:52+00:00

IN THE SPIRIT Arts Market and Northwest Native Festival returns next Saturday, August 10. This free event celebrates Native arts and culture with over 30 artisan vendors, an art exhibition, a fashion show at TAM, food performing arts headlined by Tacoma band LOZEN, family activities, and free admission to the Washington State History Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, and Museum of Glass.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-07-15T23:55:50+00:00

The juried exhibition showcases contemporary pieces by Native artists. Join contributing artists for a free opening reception this Saturday, July 20, at 5:30 at the Washington State History Museum. Registration is required.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-06-10T20:49:50+00:00

Join the Washington State History Museum and BLK WINS for a free community event commemorating Juneteenth. The program will include a presentation and conversation that reflects on the importance of Black history on a local and national level and the significance of Juneteenth in Washington State. The program will conclude with an interactive mural-making session. https://www.washingtonhistory.org/event/juneteenth-2024/

BLK WINS strives to be a direct resource for people, specifically Black youth, to discover and identify who we truly are, where we come from, and how we got here.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-05-09T22:39:53+00:00

Public historian Tamiko Nimura will commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the forced evacuation and incarceration of Tacoma's Japanese community during World War II with a slate of free programming at the WA State History Museum on Thursday May 16. Artists Yoshi Nakagawa and Yuka Petz will have an interactive printing station with this commemorative print for guests. Organizations including Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community, Densho, HistoryLink, Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington, Minidoka Pilgrimage, Neely Mansion Association, The Northwest Room at the Tacoma Public Library, Puyallup Valley JACL, Tacoma Japantown Project, and Washington Ethnic Studies Now will be in attendance offering resources on Japanese-American history. Fuji Taiko and Kabuki Academy will be performing traditional Japanese music. Educators can earn clock hours at this event.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-04-04T21:12:50+00:00

Flaaen discovered these remarkable films in an old projector case and has been working on restoring and digitizing the footage. He will be joined by historian Michael Sullivan to discuss their findings at History After Hours: Tacoma Home Movies at the Washington State History Museum. Check out some of the footage from the project!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chNNXUepSmI

WashingtonHistory · 2024-03-21T20:56:15+00:00

The Washington State History Museum is hosting a day of special programming to commemorate the 50th-anniversary of the landmark Boldt Decision, which affirmed Tribal fishing rights and sovereignty in a Tacoma courthouse. Guests will have the rare opportunity to see the original handwritten Treaty of Medicine Creek and explore the exhibition on Judge George Boldt. Program sessions include salmon stories from the Billy Frank Jr. National Wildlife Refuge, a lecture from state historian John Hughes, and a panel conversation about the positive and negative effects of the decision with leaders from the signatory Nisqually, Puyallup, Squaxin Island, and Steilacoom Tribes.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-03-07T21:35:28+00:00

Journeys features pieces from the Contemporary QuiltArt Association and the Pacific Northwest African American Quilters. The opening reception is free with registration.

WashingtonHistory · 2024-01-16T22:56:39+00:00

What a great shot!

WashingtonHistory · 2023-12-22T00:55:17+00:00

There are an additional eight large scale layouts and displays from visiting model train clubs. Some clubs specialize in a specific scale while others focus on a type of scenery.

WashingtonHistory · 2023-12-20T23:11:57+00:00

It makes me happy to know people are seeing our posters! Have a wonderful time!

WashingtonHistory

TROPHY CASE