The best time to go to this Asian cultural heritage institution in the International District is the third Saturday of the month when admission is free and there are craft-related events. Grandchildren (and grandparents) might be able to try their hand at making lanterns during the Lunar New Year.
Contact no: (206) 623-5124
Location: 719 South King Street, Seattle, WA 98104
Learn more here.
Sure there are plenty of planes on displays, but if you really want your grandchildren to understand what it was like growing up during World War II, take them to the J. Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing where they can see news reels, hear music of the era, talk to actors/pilots and learn some aviation history along the way. Older children will enjoy the museum’s many flight simulators.
Contact no: (206) 764-5720
Location: 9404 East Marginal Way S, Seattle, WA 98108-4097
Learn more here.
If your grandchild is a science buff with a special interest in telecommunications, this little-known institution will be right up his/her alley. Originally called the Vintage Telephone Equipment Museum, it not only traces the history of telephony, but also shows how this invention that we can’t get along without works.
Contact no: (206) 767-3012
Location: 7000 East Marginal Way S, Seattle, WA 98108
Learn more here.
A great way to start a day at the Seattle Center, the hands-on museum gets a kid’s creative juices flowing with traveling exhibits such as Bob the Builder Project: Build It and Moneyville. There are also eight permanent exhibits that your grandchildren will want to drag you to again and again including the nautical themed displays in Discovery Bay for the smaller set and Imagination Studio. A $55 membership allows you to bring as many grandchildren as you want again and again.
Contact no: (206) 441-1768
Location: 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109
Learn more here.
There’s just something about dinosaurs that drives young kids crazy and the Burke has Seattle’s only year-round display of dinosaur bones and eggs with four full skeletons. On weekends, University of Washington graduate students do demonstrations in such areas as mammology, geology, and archaeology and bravely field questions from all comers, including your grandchildren.
Contact no: (206) 543-5590
Location: Northeast 45th Street and 17th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98195-3010
Learn more here.
It’s always been the grandparents’ job to introduce their grandchildren to cultural events like the symphony; whether the grandchildren want to go or not. This interactive children’s museum at the foot of Benaroya Hall, the home of the Seattle Symphony, makes the job much easier with exhibits that allow kids to conduct a virtual orchestra, play instruments, and even listen to symphonic music
Contact no: (206) 336-6600
Location: 200 University Street, Seattle, WA 98101
Learn more here.
If you waudrs in town with a tidal pool touch tank, robotic insects, a butterfly house, and a science playground. Other offerings include laser shows, a planetarium, and two IMAX theaters where you can see the latest Hollywood blockbuster on a six-story, 80-foot wide screen and a variety of other films in 3-D.
Contact no: (206) 443-2001
Location: 200 Second Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109
Learn more here.
Minnesota may have the Prairie Home Companion and Norwegian bachelor farmers, but Seattle has the country’s only museum dedicated to the story of Nordic immigrants. The subject matter is of special interest to non-Nordic families as well, especially newcomers to the neighborhood of Ballard, where most of them settled. The Dream of America Exhibition traces the wave of immigration that took Scandinavian immigrants from Ellis Island and New York through the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest. Additional rooms in the museum focus on the experience of immigrants from specific countries in the region including Iceland, Finland, and Norway. Where else can you and your grandchildren find out what a psalmodikon is?
Contact no: (206) 443-2001
Location: 200 Second Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109
Learn more here.
Seattle history comes to life at this museum where displays allow children to try their hands at classic local jobs like working in a salmon cannery or riding on a fishing boat. A recreation of Downtown before the Great Seattle Fire allows them to see what the city was like in its early days and how the city has grown since.
Contact no: (206) 324-1126
Location: 2700 24th Avenue E, Seattle, WA 98112
Learn more here.
Set smack dab in the middle of Seattle’s working waterfront, the hands-on maritime exhibits at this events center teach kids about the port, the many uses of Puget Sound and the area’s fishing heritage with fun displays. See your grandchildren dressed up in fishing gear, help them load containers from ships onto trains with a crane simulator, and step into a ship’s pilothouse to get a taste of life at sea.
Contact no: (206) 374-4000
Location: 2205 Alaskan Way, Pier 66, Seattle, WA 98121
Learn more here.
