Note: If you are going to a number of places in a short period of time, consider buying a City Pass. It covers admission to six attractions (Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, Seattle Aquarium, Woodland Park Zoo, Museum of Flight, Seattle Art Museum) for a fixed rate for each age group. Purchase the pass at any of the six sites. It is valid for one week.

 

Seattle Center

305 Harrison Street

206 - 684-7240, Fax: 206 - 684-7342

Seattle Center general information: 206-684-7200

The 1962 World's Fair, also known as the 'Century 21 Exposition', brought in over 9 million visitors from around the world for a glimpse of Tomorrow, Seattle-style. What remains of the futuristic groupings of exhibition halls, arenas and public spaces is today called the Seattle Center.

The grounds are home to dance, theater, opera, museums and Key Arena.

The following are part of the Seattle Center:

 

The Pacific Science Center has hands-on exhibits for children, an impressive new Boeing IMAX Theater and a gift shop. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and to 6 p.m. weekends and holidays. Admission charged.

Located at the Seattle Center, the Pacific Science Center houses the Willard W. Smith Planetarium, with ever-changing shows on such subjects as dinosaurs, space exploration and Alaska. Monday-Friday 10 am-5 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am-6 pm. Admission charged.

In the museum's Science Playground, you can play tic-tac-toe with a robot or virtual basketball.

The IMAX theater has hourly screenings 10 am-8 pm. Film tickets sold separately.

Laser light shows at the Boeing Spacearium feature music from artists ranging from leading artists. Shows run throughout the day (midnight show on Saturdays.

(8) Children's Museum at Seattle Center

c/o Seattle Center House 305 Harrison

206 - 441-1768

Admission charged. 206-441-1768

The Center has exhibits and hands-on activities for the whole family. Check out "Mountain Forest," which describes and shows the flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest, and "Discovery Bay," an infant/toddler area designed to exercise motor skills.

 

Museum of Rock ‘N’ Roll combines exhibitions of artifacts with interactive displays that help people create and play music on their own. A tribute to the “Seattle Sound,” the museum was financed by billionaire Paul Allen who was inspired by Jimi Hendrix, the legendary Seattle guitarist of the 1960’s. Memorabilia from the bands Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden and many other local groups are displayed along with the history of the bands that sprang from Seattle and redefined the industry.

 

Seattle Art Museum

100 University Street

206 - 625-8900, Fax: 206 - 625-8913

Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-5 pm, Thursday till 9 pm.

Free the first Thursday of the month.

Save your ticket! It will admit you to the Seattle Asian Art Museum if you go within one week. 100 University St. at 1st Avenue. Phone 206-654-3100.

The mammoth Hammering Man sculpture guards the museum's entrance. Within are four floors of African, European and Northwest Coastal Native American art.

Jonathan Barofsky's towering metal "Hammering Man" makes the museum at 100 University St. easy to spot. Visitors pass the gift shop and climb an impressive staircase to the main galleries.

Among the museum's most distinguished permanent collections are African, Northwest Coast Indian and Asian art. "The Russian Decorative Arts: The Plestcheeff Collection" offers visitors a look at Russian porcelain and decorative arts. And "The Northwest Art/Asian Affinities" exhibit explores the relationship between Asian aesthetics and recurring motifs in the work of Northwest artists.

 

Seattle Asian Art Museum

1400 E. Prospect.

206-654-3100.

Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-5 pm, Thursday till 9 pm.

Admission charged.

Free the first Thursday and Saturday of the month.

Your ticket is also good for admission to the Seattle Art Museum within one week.

This museum houses one of the nation's most important collections of Asian art. The building itself is a gorgeous example of art nouveau architecture. Ample free parking.

 

University of Washington Museum

15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 41st Street

206-543-2280.

Admissioncharged.

free Thursday 5-8 p.m.

Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., until 8 p.m. Thursday.

The museum is a mecca for contemporary art in Seattle. On display this summer will be "Andy Warhol: Drawings, 1942-1987," with more than 200 rarely seen drawings that survey Warhol's entire career. It runs July 20 through Oct. 8

 

 

Museum of History and Industry

2700 24th Ave. E.

Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m

Admission charged.

206-324-1126.

This is the place to get a sense of Seattle's distant and not-so-distant past. Exhibits of artifacts bring to life Seattle's roots (from the Klondike Gold Rush to Boeing's early days), and a new show, "See All About It," features 100 images of 20th-century Seattle taken by Seattle P-I photographers.

The museum offers walking tours (to the Montlake Cut with a museum historian and the Washington Park Arboretum with a naturalist), on most weekends through September.

The museum is off Montlake Boulevard, south of Husky Stadium and the Montlake Bridge

 

Burke Museum

University of Washington/Db10

N.E. 45th Street at 17th Avenue N.E.

206 - 543-5590, Fax: 206 - 543-9285

Daily 10 am-5 pm, Thursday till 8 pm. Admission charged.

This museum at the University of Washington contains exhibits about dinosaurs, fossils and cultures of the Pacific Rim, as well as the bones of the Kennewick man. The museum

keeps a good collection of dinosaur skeletons, but its real treasures are its Indian artifacts, especially the collection of cedar canoes and totem poles. It is also the school's fine art show space.

Have coffee and biscotti in the Boiserie Cafe, charming with its 19th-century paneled walls

 

 

Frye Art Museum

704 Terry Avenue

206 - 622-9250

Cafe and gift shop. Tues-Sat 10 -5 Thursday till 9 pm, Sunday noon-5 pm.

Admission: Free

The Frye Art Museum on First Hill has been handsomely renovated and has a permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century Russian and other European art. Other eclectic exhibits include comic strip art and works by Melville Holmes.

 

Klondike Gold Rush Museum

117 S. Main Street , Pioneer Square

206-553-7220.

Daily 9 am-5 pm. Free.

Located in Pioneer Square, this national historic park is more a building than a parkland, but it's worth a visit for its exhibits that commemorate the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s. Seattle was a major gateway for the Klondike prospectors, who boarded ships there on the way to gold fields in Alaska and the Yukon Territory. In addition to photographs, artifacts and slide shows, the park staff presents interesting demonstrations of gold panning and discussions of the harsh conditions faced by the miners

 

Museum of Flight

9404 East Marginal Way South of the City by Boeing Field

206 - 767-7373, 206 - 764-5720, Fax: 206 - 764-5707

Daily 10 am-5 pm, Thursday till 9 pm.

Admission is free the first Thursday of each month 5-9 pm.

The Museum of Flight's glass-walled gallery is several stories high to display authentic historic aircraft suspended from the ceiling.

In the steel-and-glass Great Gallery, visitors can experience the history of aviation with dozens of full-size authentic historic aircraft suspended six stories above. A new section focuses on early air mail planes. You can board the original Air Force One, the only presidential jet open to the public.

The museum's core is the "Red Barn,"the original Boeing Airplane Co. factory.

Fans of aviation will enjoy the extensive collection of planes and aviation and aerospace artifacts

The Blue Angels make the museum their base annually when they are in town to perform at Seafair, the city's summer celebration.

 

Museum of History and Industry

2700-24th Avenue East

206 - 324-1125

Call for directions: 206-324-1126.

Daily 10 am-5 pm. Admission charged.

Learn about Northwest culture through photographs and narratives, including exhibits on salmon and the history of the ferries. The museum is less than 1 mi. from the University of Washington, in the Montlake District off I-5.

 

Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art

1116 108th Ave. N.E.

425-455-1116.

Monday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm, Sunday 1-5 pm.

Admission charged.

Across Lake Washington in Bellevue is the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, a spectacular collection of collectible and antique dolls, teddy bears, miniatures and toys. The sophisticated displays interest doll and toy collectors as well as children.

 

Wing Luke Asian Museum

407 7th Ave. S.

206-623-5124

Tuesday-Friday 11 am-4:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday noon-4 pm.

Asian-American art and history are the focus of this museum in the International District southeast of downtown.

 

Volunteer Park Conservatory

1400 E. Galer

206-684-4743.

Open daily 10 am-7 pm (closing at 4 pm in the winter)

Free.

If time permits, visit the 106-step Observation Tower, south of the museum

Just yards from the Seattle Asian Art Museum, Volunteer Park Conservatory is a must: Victorian-style greenhouse with numerous species of exotic and tropical plants, especially orchids and cacti.