Went to Fort Nisqually for the Queen Victoria's birthday celebration. The weather started out fine…read morebut turned into a rainy day complete with hail, lightning and thunder. We took up shelter in Store #2 which has the blacksmith shop currently. We had the chance to talk to many of the volunteers and staff during our visit. I have a little of knowledge regarding the local history, which I tend to keep to myself, and was shocked by the sheer volume of historical information provided by the volunteers and the staff, all was accurate to what I knew (I have read some of Dr. Tomie's diaries and the book "Company of Adventures" among other local historical books/ information. I questioned the blacksmith on one of his statements based on a historical reference I had read. Long story short, he was aware of the reference, and we discussed how accurate what I had read was. I was honestly shocked to find out he was a volunteer. This type of interaction was not unique to one volunteer. There was an individual with a straw top hat who was also incredibly knowledgeable, the carpenters were first rate just hitting on the tip of the ice berg here. Overall, phenomenal place to visit, I wish the more volunteers and staff were present during non-event days as well, but I will be going back. I understand they have a list of people volunteering and staff available in the gift shop so one can determine who is there before paying to enter. Couple of thoughts: - depending on when you go through, remember some of the staff/ volunteers may have something they are working on. If they ignore you when you first show up in their "space", remember they may have something happening that needs immediate attention. Don't be impatient. Watch what they are doing and ask questions. This is supposed to be an interactive experience, not necessarily an entertainment. - "Be curious" to quote Ted Lasso. - Depending on who is in Store #2 (blacksmith shop), ask about the "family courting candlestick". Interesting story there - I failed the "Blacksmith IQ test". See if you can do better...

This is a fun way for the kids to learn about a very narrow and specific part of the history of the…read morearea. Of course, it is not a very important or interesting part of local history. It's always disappointing to see European intruders' subjection of land, animals, and people glorified in this way. But, if this type of history interests you, they've done it well. We took our 5 and 8 year old and had a discussion about the fort in the wider context of history and whether it represents changes that were positive or negative for the people living on this land.

Always a fun time !…read more Car enthusiast, a must ! We loved the first floor display, it changes from time to time. Recommend following the recommended walking route. Start at top right hand side walk ramp down and loop back up! Plenty of bathrooms, parking, cafe, & gift shop!

5+ stars. How about 10 stars? If you are a car buff, this is a no-brainer. If you just have a…read morecasual interest in cars, then you should come. Block out at least a couple of hours to see it, but you will want to spend at least half a day there. The museum is ingeniously designed in a double helix. Keep going down to see the exhibits and then go back up to see the rest. There are cars for everyone's tastes. Great collection of antique, classic, and contemporary autos. So fun to see them all. World class museum. 5* = A top favorite. Mind-blowing good. I will definitely return and I will go out of my way to go here. Worth every dime of my money. 4* = Outstanding. Top-tier. Some elements not quite as good as it gets, but it still is worthy of my regular business. 3* = Good experience. I might do repeat business if it is convenient, the only option, the only one in its category, or on a whim, but would not be among the first thing to come to mind. Would definitely recommend you trying it to get your own take on it. 2* = Not so good. Would not recommend at all. Waste of money. 1* = How are they still in business? Stay away at all costs!

We came in December during a train event without having realized the trains were on display. It was…read morea happy coincidence, as my kids really enjoyed the displays and talking to the hobbyists. The actual history museum had a lot of interesting and well put together displays. The exhibit on native people was very interesting and informative. I grew up in the area and moved away without ever having learned much about the local native tribes and their history, so it was great to learn more as an adult. My kids are 8 and 5 and this place held their attention for over 3 hours. We probably could've stayed longer, but our tummies were growling so it was time to find lunch.

What a wholesome experience for the entire family! 5 floors of different type of Model trains while…read moreyou go through the states history as well. If you are here for the train displays with your kids, you need to cover floor 1 as the last stop. Floor 1 has play area with Legos and Toy train tracks and the toddlers don't want to go anywhere else! Super friendly staff at each display who are eager to interact with the kids and the adults. I missed it last year, now, we might end up coming here every year!

Great bridge to see the city view and the high way. The bridge connects the city to harbor and…read moreglass museum. It has great promenade on other side of the bridge to connect the harbor. On the bridge it displays some of the beautiful glass sculptures. You will pass cover walkway with flower type glasses on top. Then it is two glass pillars. Then follow by the grass sculpture cabinet. It really beautiful.

Free and a magnificently beautiful walk. I saw a small inconspicuous sign and followed it to a…read morebeautiful public display of Chihuly glass art. Please come and create your own adventure.

Children's Museum for free! Yep! They ask for donation and I was happy to donate! The staff are…read morecourteous and helpful and even caution the unruly kids running around! Water play area is definitely the most high activity zone. My kid almost spent an hour playing in that area. The air flow duct with scarves is another fun area for the kid. Among all the other museums I have visited, the painting, arts & crafts area is quite unique to this museum. The wooden boards and the net at the end of the museum is another adventure for all kids and not available in other museums. This was the first time I saw my kid feeling the courage to climb over the ropes and explore. The paid parking area near the museum has good number of spots but the signs can be confusing as it says "only reserved" and you tend to wonder if you will get ticketed. Park Mobile app location 50271 is good and confirmed by museum folks! Or there is street parking too!

This isn't a very large children's museum, but my 5 and 8 year old had a ton of fun playing. It's…read moreso nice that it is pay what you can so that anyone can come. We were impressed by the cleanliness. Though, I didn't look closely, nothing jumped out as being gross. If you're in the area, it's worth a stop, but I wouldn't go too far out of the way for it.

Free! Donations appreciated Great local museum in a…read morespacious building. Was great learning history about the area. They have scavenger hunts for the kids and a small gift area.

The venue itself is awesome. Great views and lots of space. However we somehow got a ticket on…read moreprivate property. Not sure how that's a thing. Wasn't clear that we needed to pay for parking either. The ticket thing ruined the otherwise good experience.

This is a gorgeous and intriguing museum that I highly recommend - although be advised that right…read morenow they are renovating. They will re-open their main galleries in the fall of 2026. To help soften the blow, they have lowered admission price in the interim. The hot shop is also still open and you can watch live glass making there. There are a few exhibit cases on view. There are lots of fun works that kids' designed that are also on view on the main lobby and down the hall. We went for a glass making class, which was tons of fun. I'm sure attendance varies widely - ours was not crowded. The person monitoring the class, Audrey, was friendly; she explains everything and then you have at it. She is there to help, which includes cutting glass pieces to suit whatever design you are making (this probably depends on the style of glass you are making). FYI the gift shop is really nice and is available even if you don't go into the museum. You can purchase works by glass artists who have been at the museum - so it's more than your average gift shop.

This museum is located in Tacoma which is 30 minutes away from the Seattle airport. It is located…read moreby the Tacoma Museum of Art as well. We stopped by here before a flight, please allow for 1 1/2 hours to explore this small museum. It could be longer if you want to watch the glass artists create a piece from beginning to end. We really enjoyed watching the artists create! Parking is in a lot below the museum, there is a pay station. We took the stairs up to the main museum and then walked the bridge above the museum that leads to downtown Tacoma. I found the glass artists create displayed beautiful.

I was able to visit this museum for free on the third Thursday of the month. There was also a…read moreworkshop studio and I created a nice journal cover. It was a great experience. Please come and create your own adventure.

Came on a slow weekend morning and it was perfect. Although this is a smaller museum, it packs…read morequite a punch. I really appreciated the flow and how you can start at the second floor and then magically find your way down to the first. A lot of the exhibits are very much anchored in its state and town's history which I greatly appreciated as someone visiting from out of town. I learned so much! One thing I will note is the Haunted exhibit. There's a piece that is an audio-visual projected onto a wall. Cute, until the screaming starts. While it was relevantly disturbing and added spooky texture to the larger exhibit, because the museum is small and all interconnected by long hallways, those screams echoed and followed us into the other exhibits. We laughed it off but it's definitely something to consider if you're very easily spooked. Like I'm just calmly looking at some cool Chihuly glass and then "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The Buffalo Soldiers Museum is definitely an overlooked museum in Tacoma and is definitely worth…read morechecking out. Admission is free which is always a plus! If you want to donate however you can by the front door. The Buffalo Soldiers is a term for African American cavalry soldiers. The term was given by Native Americans because these soldiers reminded them of the buffalo due to the fierce and brave nature which was often how the animal exhibited. This museum focuses on 9th and 10th cavalry regiments but the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. These regiments were involved in several wars. The American Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, Mexican Border War and World War 1 and World War 2. Other wars are mentioned at the museum as well like the Korean War. The museum is relatively small but there is a large amount of information and artifacts and the person that greeted us was very friendly and gave us lots of information which was great! I definitely recommend the Buffalo Soldier's Museum as there are lots of pieces and stories from American history here that is fascinating and educational!

I was told about the Buffalo Soldier Museum by a neighbor friend of mine on a Friday afternoon as…read morewe sat enjoying lunch together. She mentioned her parents who had been visiting from California, went to the museum and found it very interesting and enjoyable. The museum had limited hours they were open. She reached for her phone and looked up the museum hours. Well, it just so happened, the museum was going to be open the next day between the hours of 12pm - 4pm. So, here I am enjoying and learning about the Buffalo Soldiers. I highly recommend going to this little museum in the Hilltop neighborhood and supporting the museum and the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers. Totally loved it!